


New York State of Mind

by juli_with_a_chance



Category: Carmilla (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe- No Supernatural, Fluff, Multi, We'll see where we go, a little bit of angst, domestic hollstein, or a lot of bit...
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-02
Updated: 2018-02-17
Packaged: 2018-05-04 12:35:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 34
Words: 90,861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5334305
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/juli_with_a_chance/pseuds/juli_with_a_chance
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Carmilla and LaF are roommates and friends living on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Perry comes to visit for the holidays and brings a friend along for the trip. (Summaries are always terrible, just read if you desire to.)</p><p>*Revised and Edited as of Feb. 14 2018*</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

-Carmilla POV-

I wake up to a pillow smacking me in the face and the sound of my roommate’s voice echoing off the walls of my room. “Get up you lazy sack! They’ll be here soon!” they say, stomping into my room and opening the curtains, allowing the crisp sunlight to enter my room, I open my eyes and look out into the cold winter day, the sky the shade of blue that is more than just breathtaking, it’s awe inspiring.

“Who are they?” I ask, blinking a few times to adjust to the lighting. 

“Perry and her friend, Laura.” Laf says a bit annoyed as the come walking around my room, picking up all the scattered clothes and dirty dishes. “They should be here soon, she texted me saying their flight landed about a half hour ago, she was waiting for a cab and then by the time she gets here…” Laf says trailing off as they walked out of my room.

So here’s the run down, Laf and I are roommates, and we’ve been living in New York City for the past five or six months now, our friend, Perry, well more Laf’s friend than mine, is coming to visit us for the first time since we’ve moved here. After Silas, Laf got a job at Columbia as some kind of science medical researcher or something; and me wanting to start fresh somewhere that wasn’t Silas, or that general area, I tagged along.

“Carm! Get done!”

“I’m going, I’m going.” I say, sitting on the edge of my bed, before standing up and looking out the window. Our apartment has a beautiful view of Central Park West. I pull on my red robe when I hear a knock at the door.

“Get the door Carm!”

“I’m already getting it Brainiac.”

“Carmilla, it’s nice to see you.” Perry says quickly, looking over my shoulder. 

“Hey Gingersnap.” I say. Perry has always been LaFontaine’s friend since they were kids, and as I became friendly with Laf, Perry remained _Laf’s_ friend, and strictly that. Yeah we were nice when we were together, but most of the time we really didn’t hang out unless Laf was involved as well.

“I see the names still remain. Where is LaFontaine?” Perry asks; the name still came out of her mouth in a manner that made it seem as though it was sour. When Laf rounds the corner, fiddling with some kind of contraption they are working on, Perry’s eyes lit up. “There’s my friend.” Perry says happily, shoving past me and into the apartment with open arms.

“Holy Hufflepuff.” I hear someone say from beside me, I think it’s one of the kids that live on the floor until I turn to see the most amazing pair of honey brown eyes I’ve ever seen, they’re very hypnotic. 

“You okay there, Cupcake?” I ask, after I come back to reality. “Here let me.” I say helping her with her bags. 

“Thank you. By the looks of it, you’re Carmilla?” She says a bit confident.

“That’s correct, Cutie. And you are, Laurel?” I ask, closing the door behind us before leading her to the guest room.

“Laura.”

“Well Buttercup, this is where you’ll be for the next few days.” I say opening the door widely to the spare room just across the hall from mine. I walk in to see my cat, Søren, lying in the middle of the large queen sized bed. “Søren! Get down!” I say clapping my hands together, startling him enough to jump from the bed and trot into my room. “Sorry, this door is usually always closed, the mad scientist must have forgot to close it all the way.” I say embarrassed.

“It’s okay. You named you’re cat after the philosopher?” She asks, cocking her head to the side.

“Y-Yeah, I’m surprised you knew that, Creampuff.” “I had to take a course when I was in school, Søren Kierkegaard was one of my favorites.”

“Interesting. Yeah, I was going to name him Kierkegaard, but that was a mouthful, and it didn’t fit on the little tag at the pet store.”

“Yeah, that would have been a mouthful for a cat’s name. When I was a kid my dad let me have a hamster and I named him Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, I had the name tag of his cage and everything, but of course I just called him Albus or Dumbledore, but that was his name, all five of them.” She rambles nervously, and I swear it is the cutest thing I have ever seen or heard in my life.

“Take a breath Cupcake.”

“Sorry.” She says shyly, sitting down on the bed.

“Don’t be sorry. I’ll let you get settled, if you want anything I’ll be just across the hall, and the Gingies I think gravitated towards the kitchen. Laf said something about Perry being the best baker in the world or something.”

“Yeah, Perry makes the best cookies in the entire world. Better than any mother or grandmother.” Laura says with a smile.

“So I’ve heard.” I say with a small smile as I walk into my room and close the door, throwing myself onto my bed. After about an hour of straightening up and reading, mostly reading, there is a small knock at my door. “Yeah?” I ask, not looking up from my book.

“Carmilla?” I look up to see Laura peaking her head around the door.

“You can come in, I won’t bite.” I say with a wink, watching Laura’s face turn red. She walks in timidly, taking in the surrounding of my room. Looking at the numerous bookshelves against the walls, thankfully when Laf decided they wanted me to move in with them, they let me pick out the apartment. Thankfully that way the best decision anyone had ever made. When I saw the listing for this place and then did the walk through, as soon as I saw the small bedroom, intended to be an office, with dark walls and floor to ceiling bookcases, I jumped on the opportunity. 

“Did you read all those books?” She asks, pointing to the one bookcase that held nearly a hundred books. 

“More than half, and counting.” I say, holding up the book in my hand. I watch, as she looks over the titles a bit more, sitting up straighter on my bed. I see her face change as she gazes through the massive collection, sometimes she’d furrow her brow in confusion, other times she’d raise them in surprise, and finally excitement when her eyes fall on a particular book that she pulls from the far, dusty corner of the shelf. She brushes off a bit of dust before holding up the book with a smile that was as if she just found buried treasure.

“Did you read this one?” She asks, holding it up before opening the cover, and reading through the first couple of pages. “It’s signed.” She says, running her fingers over the page she was referring to. I get up from my bed and walk over to her.

“That it is, and I would like for you to put it back. No one knows I have that and we’re keeping it that way.” I say, taking the book from her hands and putting it back in its rightful spot. “And before you ask, yes they are all signed. And no, no one knows that I have them, if LaFontaine found out, I’d never hear the end of it. I have a reputation to uphold.” I say sternly.

“They don’t know that you’re a closeted Harry Potter fanatic?”

“No they do not, and I’m not a fanatic.” I say, walking back over to my bed.

“Tell that to the Slytherin scarf hidden under the pile of stuff coming out of your dresser drawer.” She says, pointing to the spot. “And the fact that, that box over there is the box of The Elder Wand replica.” She points out to one of the shelves across the way. I start to feel my cheeks get hot. “But you know, you’re not a fanatic. Oh and let’s not forget the movies on the shelf over –.”

“Okay, okay. Fanatic may not be too far off.”

“It’s okay, I’m quite the fanatic as well. I’m a Hufflepuff.”

“I would have never guessed that cutie. You seemed like such a Slytherin yourself.” I say sarcastically.

“Nope, never. I kind of had a feeling I was always going to be a Hufflepuff ever since I read the books, either that or Gryffindor. And then when I took the test and got placed into Hufflepuff I was so happy and freaked out that my dad thought something happened and then when I told him that I got into Hufflepuff from the test he was confused for a minute and well, yeah. Sorry.”

“It’s okay Cutie.” I say, petting Søren’s head when he comes over to me. “So why did you come in here again?”

“Right, Laf and Perry wanted me to tell you that we’re all going out, something about a tree lighting tonight. I’m not sure, all I know is that Laf said something about heart eyes for me and that if I go, then you’ll be willing to go cause you never want to go with them.” Laura says, her face turning as red as mine at the mention of ‘heart eyes’.

“I see, well the mad scientist knows better than to drag me in the freezing cold to watch some stupid tree get lit up.”

“Okay then.” Laura says quietly, walking out of my room and closing the door behind her. Only to have it swung open moments later.

“Are you kidding me?” Laf says, walking into my room and closing the door behind them.

“What?”

“You really can’t be a decent human being and come with us tonight?”

“I just met her, I am awake far before noon, and you’re going to drag me into the cold for a thirty second tree lighting that I have to stand in a massive crowd of people to watch? I mean the enjoyment of that is on a level that makes sticking pins in my eyes more appealing. You know I never do to those things, what makes today any different?”

“The fact that we have company, the fact that I haven’t seen Perry in months, and the fact that if Laura goes with just Perry and me, that she’ll be a third wheel. Laura doesn’t deserve to be the third wheel when there is a highly capable third wheel buddy right here.”

“Tell her she can just stay here and we can go see the tree tomorrow night when there will be less people around. How long are they staying anyway?”

“Perry is thinking of moving here, so I don’t really know how long they are staying exactly, Laura might leave sooner.”

“So there. There will be plenty of time to see the stupid thing. Especially if they’re going to be here for a while.”

“Fine, you wanna play it that way? Then we’re decorating the apartment for Christmas.” They say with a triumphant tone. “And when I say we, that means you too. So go pull on that black Santa hat Perry so nicely made you last year and start getting the boxes from the guest closet.” They say without another word as they turn on their heels and walk out of my room.

* * *

“Awe, there she is.” Laf chimes with a sarcastic smile.

“Bah, humbug.” I snap, placing a couple of boxes in the middle of the room before plopping down on the couch.

“You don’t like Christmas very much.” Laura says, sitting down beside me with a smile.

“Not really Cupcake. It just isn’t my thing.”

“It never was her thing.” Perry chimes as she places a plate of cookies on the coffee table.

“Well Betty Crocker, I honestly don’t understand why you two aren’t tired or something from your flight. I mean, you and cookie monster over here, shouldn’t you two be less… _this_?” I say, implying the fact that they are more comfortable than I have ever seen anyone before in my life. I mean, granted Laf and Perry have known each other since birth, and Laura seemed to be a friendly person and all, but still.

“Why? Just because you’re a pain in the butt and hate everything to do with everything doesn’t mean everyone is. And besides, the flight wasn’t long and we pretty much slept the whole time. And it’s only twelve-thirty in the afternoon. You’re just cranky because you were woken up before three, and was forced to meet someone new.” Perry explains as she begins rifling through boxes.

“Okay, okay. I’ll shut up now.” I say, holding my hands up in surrender before getting up and walking over to one of the smaller bookcases in the corner that contained mainly CDs. Picking the one I was looking for and putting the stereo on, allowing for the oh so quiet tune of Christmas music to begin filling the apartment.

“Did Scrooge just put on Christmas music?” Laf asks, snapping their head up in shock, looking over at me as I flip them off with a smirk on my face.

“Fuck you Gingy.”

 

“Love you too!”


	2. Chapter 2

-Laura POV-

Carmilla walks back into the living room, handing me a mug hot cocoa. I look up at her and smile, she puts her finger to her lips gesturing me to not say anything as she winks and sits beside me.

“Wow, thanks for the drink Carmilla. Oh no problem Dweeb.” Laf mocks as they start to assemble the artificial tree in the corner of the small living area. 

“You live here.” Carmilla snaps as she puts her feet up on the coffee table.

“You didn’t bring Perry anything.” Laf states. 

“This cup is for her, Genius.”

“Thank you Carmilla.” Perry says happily.

“No problem Curly Sue.”

“Please don’t exert yourself. Wouldn’t want her majesty to get hurt.” Laf huffs in annoyance.

“This was far from my idea. You know that if we didn’t have company you would most likely be doing this all on your own. The only one that would be giving you company is Søren.” Carmilla says, sipping her cup.

“You aren’t much of a people person are you?" 

“What gave that away?”

“Well your real lack of social skills is one.” I counter, watching Carmilla trying desperately to hide the smile forming on her face.

“Touché. So, Cutie, what is it you do?”

“As in?" 

“Work, school, people? Things that fall into the category of _doing_.”

“Oh, I see. I’m a Journalist for a local paper back home. So clearly I went to school for that. And on the matter of doing people, only when the mood strikes.” I say with a wink, watching her cheeks flush a bit. “What about you?” 

“Getting a PhD in Philosophy, working at a book store around the corner, and same as you. When it comes to people that is.” She says with a wink. “You seem quite clever underneath that childlike exterior you have going for you.”

“What does that mean?”

“You have to be, what? In your mid twenties or so? And you’re wearing a sweater with bunnies on it. And let’s not forget to mention that fact that your version of cursing involves words like ‘holy Hufflepuff’.” Carmilla teases. There was something oddly mysterious and intriguing about her all at the same time. She was someone that seemed to let people on when she felt like it and only of you were worthy of her time and attention. There is a proper term for it, but it escapes me, as does all coherent thought as she just sits there staring at me.

“What?”

“You’re a very interesting person is all.”

“If she says that, it means you’re worth her time.” Laf chimes in from under the tree. “Laura, I suggest you don’t fall into the trap.”

“What’s the suppose to mean?” 

“Well for one you aren’t the nicest person, and you eat souls for fun. Laura on the other hand, is the sweetest girl in the world and pretty much sneezes rainbows.” Laf states as they come out from under the tree and stand up straight.

“Isn’t the age old saying ‘opposites attract’?”

“Leave them alone LaFontaine.” Perry says.

“Thank you.” Carmilla sighs, running her fingers through her hair and getting up from the couch. “I’ll be in my room.” She says before walking away. 

“Look what you did.” Perry says, scolding Laf.

“I didn’t think she was going to get mad and walk away.” They say, shuffling through some boxes.

“We’re talking about Carmilla. She gets mad if you hand her the beer she didn’t ask for.” Perry states.

“I’ll go see if she’s okay.” I say, placing my mug in the coffee table before getting up and walking over to Carmilla’s room knocking on the door.

“Come in.” She mumbles behind the door. I take a small breath before opening the door, finding her in the same position as earlier. “Laf is an ass hole.” She says, not looking up from her book. “Close the door if you’re going to be staying.” I do as I’m told and make my way over to sit next to her on her bed, making sure to keep enough distance between us. 

“I can see that you don’t like them so much either.” I say, looking around her room and taking it all in for a second time. Noticing little things here and there that made the room cozy in a gothic sort of way. Everything was old, antique, dark woods and shades of everything.

“I bet you’ve never seen a shade or color darken then navy blue based on the way you’re looking around. I bet your place back home something as god awful as yellow.”

“No comment.” I say, petting Søren when he jumps up onto the bed, and Carmilla sits there trying to hold back her laughter. “You can laugh, it’s okay.” I say, feeling my cheeks begin to turn red.

“Now.” She begins, putting her book down. “I may regret asking you this, and may never hear the end of it from Laf, but would you care to join me for dinner Friday night?” She asks, leaning her head back against the headboard as she looks at me.

“So you’re asking me out?”

“I suppose you can put it that way. Or you can put it as a local taking a tourist out for a good time.” 

“No matter what way you try to cut it, it’s still a date whether you want to say it or not.”

“Okay fine, Laura last name – ”

“Hollis.”

“Okay, Laura Hollis, would you like to go on a date with me tomorrow night?” She asks, trying very hard to hide how nervous she is.

“I think I would like that very much.”

 

-Carmilla POV-

“Ready to go?” I ask, walking into the guest room to find Laura putting the finishing touches to her make up.

“Ready.” 

“Shall we?”

“We shall.” 

“Don’t be out too late now. It’s a school night.” Laf chimes from the couch as we walk into the living room.

“Don’t you have something to incubate?”

“LaFontaine, be nice.” Perry says from the kitchen. “You two have a good time.”

“Thanks Per.” Laura says, wrapping her scarf around her neck as I open the door for her. “So, where are we going?” She asks when we get into the hallway.

“We’re going to have a nice time, and that’s all that you have to worry about. What is your opinion on the subway?”

“Never rode one in my life.”

“Uber it is then.” I say, taking out my phone. “Okay, and how are you with heights?” I add, pushing the button for the elevator.

“They don’t bother me.” Laura says, stepping into the elevator.

“Good.” I say, watching as the floors descend. “After you Buttercup.” I say when the doors open back up. We walk out onto the street, get into the car and sit quietly as we ride through the city. 

“Where are we going?”

“We are going to Midtown.” I say, watching her as she looks out the window in awe. “Have you ever been to a big city cupcake?” 

“No I haven’t, this is the first time I’ve been to a major city.”

“I can tell Sweetheart.”

“Don’t make fun of me.” Laura says, turning her attention away from the window with a smile on her face.

“I didn’t say anything.”

“You’re lucky you’re attractive.” She says, taking a second to realize what she just said, her eyes get wide and her face turns bright red. I lean closer to her.

“Oh yeah? How lucky am I Cupcake?” I whisper in her ear. Laura turns to look at me, curiosity evident in her eyes.

“I think we’re here.” She says quietly, seeing as the car came to a stop. I look out the window to see that we were at out destination. I get out of the car, holding my hand out for Laura as she slid out of the car behind me.

“One or two?” I ask, taking her hand in mine.

“Excuse me?" 

“One. Or. Two?”

“One.”

“Okay.” I say, leading the way down the sidewalk a bit before coming to a cross work and crossing the street. I lead her towards one of the many Italian restaurants in New York City.

“What was option two?”

“Option two was some kind of, new age small plates place that I was only taking you to in order to impress you.” I say with a shrug, looking over the menu. “Then again, it is my game and I could have changed it if I wanted to.”

“Well that other place seems boring, plus the dessert menu at this place looks amazing.”

“Dinner first, then dessert.”

“Well isn’t it Carm-sexy.” I hear a familiar voice chime from above me. “And who are you little hottie?”

“Hey Kirsch, this is Laura.” I say, introducing her. “What are you doing here?”

“Well, I am your server for this evening.” He says, with his usual grin.

“Ah, still bouncing from restaurant to restaurant?” I ask, still looking at the menu.

“It’s what I do best.” He chimes. 

“I see that. What about my meat head brother?”

“Will is bartending somewhere, I can’t remember where, but you know him, the bro needs to just keep busy. Anyway, what do you ladies want to drink?” He says, pulling out his little note pad and pen from his apron.

“Care to trust me?” I ask, looking over at Laura to see a slight blush on her cheeks as she nods her head. “Alright. A bottle of the best red this place is offering tonight.” I say, watching as Kirsch leaves with a nod.

“How do you know him?” 

“My brother is in the same fraternity as him. My brother, although he is younger than me, has been here longer. Last I heard he was at NYU studying politics or law, something like that.” I explain. “I don’t talk to him as often as I should. Last I heard from him was like three weeks ago. What about you, do you have any siblings?”

“No, just me and my parents.” She says cheerfully. “Granted sometimes I wish I had a brother or sister, but other times I’m happy that it’s just me. I wouldn’t be able to imagine my dad though, he was always so over protective of me growing up, I could only imagine how he would have been with another kid.”

“He sounds like a trip.”

“He is, my mom kind of just sits back and lets him worry enough for the both of them, even now coming on this trip I was practically interrogated before I left.”

“What does he do? If you don’t mind me asking?” I say, leaning forward a bit.

“He’s in construction. All I know is that he always came home smelling like a wood shed. And my mom stayed home until I went to high school, then she got a job at a florist and would come home smelling like flowers every day.” Laura says with a small smirk. “What about you?”

“Well, my mom is the Dean of Students at NYU, I don’t get along with her all that much, but she’s still my mother, you know? I also have an older sister Mattie, she’s a teacher somewhere, I don’t remember where though.”

“So your family came here first before you?”

“Yeah, I wasn’t ready to leave Silas yet, and when they moved here it was nice to be somewhat independent, then when Laf said they wanted to move, I figured the city was big enough to still feel on my own regardless of my family being here. I mean we all live in different places. My mom has a brownstone in Brooklyn, and a house in the Hamptons, Mattie lives downtown somewhere, I think Greenwich Village. And Willy Boy lives in SOHO. So we are spread out and do our own things.” I explain as Kirsch places a bottle of wine of the table and takes out orders. We eat out meal in a relative silence, sharing glances here and there and small smiles. Discussing different things that we both found interesting, as well as things we had constructive disagreements with. “One, two or three?” I ask, after Laura takes the last bite of her dessert, and I finish the last of my coffee.

“Three.” She says, wiping the corners of her mouth with her napkin. I look up and wave Kirsch over for the check, I hand him a credit card for the bill and cash for his tip.

“Thanks Grumpy Hottie.” He says with a smile. “I will be right back.”

“What’s option three?”

“That is a surprise Creampuff.” I say with a smirk, signing the check as soon as Kirsch gets back.

“It was nice seeing you again, and it was nice to meet you little nerd hottie. We should hang out some time, I’m sure Danny would like to see you.”

“Oh of course Gigantor would like that.”

“She would bro.” Kirsch says, a bit annoyed at my name-calling, but hey when you’re nearly six feet tall and all of your friends are shorter than you, naturally name-calling is part of the territory, well in my case it is.

“We’ll see pup. Thanks for the amazing service.” I say, getting up from the table, allowing for Laura to lead the way out of the restaurant. “So you said option three?”

“Yes ma’am.” Laura says, fixing her hair a bit after putting on her scarf.

“Okay.” I say quietly, holding my hand out for her to take.

“You know, you’re not as mean as Perry made you out to be.” Laura says as she intertwines our fingers and grabs my arm with her free hand.

“Well Perry and LaFontaine annoy me, so naturally I seem more grumpy around them, as a matter of fact, all of my friends annoy me and would say that I am grumpy or broody, what have you.”

“So what is it about me then? I mean, aside from the fact that I am amazing.” She teases, nervousness evident in her tone.

“Well someone is a little full of themselves.”

“Maybe just a little bit. So where are you leading me to?” 

“It’s a surprise.” I say, leading her down one street to connect to another avenue. “It’s only about three more blocks.” I add, looking over at Laura to see that she may have gone into a bit of sensory overload from all of the noises and excitement, taking place around her. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, it’s just that it got a little bit louder compared to where we just were.” She says quietly. “I’ll be alright though.”

“Okay, if it gets to be too much, don’t hesitate to let me know, we’ll get home before you know it.”

“Okay.” She says quietly, kissing me on the cheek.

“Just to clarify, you’ve never been here before?” I ask, seeing as we were quickly approaching out destination. 

“Nope, never.”

“Okay. Well coming up in about thirty steps, close your eyes.” I say with a smirk. “You trust me, yes?”

“Yes.”

“Okay.” I say, placing my hands on her shoulders, and turning her in the desired direction. “Open.” I whisper in her ear, watching her face light up brighter than the Christmas tree in front of us both.

“Is that the tree we were supposed to see the other day?” She asks, looking over her shoulder at me.

“The one and only.”

“It’s amazing.” She says in awe. “Carm, can we go ice skating?” Laura asks, her face lights up even more so than it did before.

“I don’t ice skate, Cupcake.”

“Oh come on, please.” She pouts, but in the most adorable way possible that no one, not even the broodiest person in the world would be able to resist.

“Fine, but the minute I fall on my ass, we are leave, never speaking of it ever again, and I will not speak to you for the remainder of your stay here. Got it?”

“I got it, I got it.” She says dragging me towards the rink. We go and get our skates, and the minutes my foot touches the ice, I begin to feel myself falling until Laura takes both of my hands in hers and faces me. “I may or may not know how to ice skate very well, and I may or may not have taken a lot of lessons as a kid.” She says with a slight giggle to her tone as she watches me try to balance.

“Well it better be the ‘may haves’ Cupcake, because if I go down you’re coming along with me.” I say, holding on to her hands like my life depends on it.

“Oh come on, Carm, what’s to be afraid of, here.” She says, leading me over to the railing and letting go of my hands. “All you have to do is know what you are in control of falling, if you tell yourself you’re going to fall, odds are you will, now stand up straight, and just push off and move your feet like this.” She explains, giving me a small demonstration. My focus is less on the words coming out of her mouth, and more on the way she is gliding over the ice as if she was her purpose. Laura seemed to put her all in everything she did. I mean, granted I’ve only known her for three days, and most of those days I was either working, or preparing my thesis that was dangerously close to being due as soon as the holiday break was over, but for the most part, whether it be making herself a cup of cocoa, to doing some of her own work for her job everything was done with purpose and the best I could be done. Laura seems like the kind of person that always wants things to be done right the first time, or at least hopes it’s right, but she isn’t afraid to admit when she was wrong. “Oh my gosh, Carm, are you okay?” Laura asks frantically, taking me out of my trance to realize that I’m now looking up at her, and my head is starting to get cold through the beanie I have on.

“Uhm.” I say, looking up at Laura’s soft brown eyes. “My head is cold.”

“I could imagine, come on.”

“We never speak of this again, got it?” I say through gritted teeth as I feel my face turn bright red.

“Seeing as you spaced out before you fell, this isn’t my fault at all.” Laura chimes in my ear quietly.

“Suggesting to ice skate is though.” I complain, taking off the god-forsaken skates and pulling my boots back on.

“You could have said no.”

“Oh yeah, you gave me a look that could get you off death row cupcake. Your parents must have had a hard time telling you no.”

“I always get what I want Carm.” Laura husks in my ear. “One or two?” She asks with a playful glint in her eye.

“Oh, really?” I ask. “Two.” I watch as she makes her way back towards the street with me trailing close behind her. “What are you doing?” I ask, watching her horrid attempts at haling a cab.

“We are going back home.” 

“And this falls into the choice of two?”

“Well, if you’re lucky, you will see what I have in store.” Laura chimes. The rest of the ride back home was quiet, seeing as I had nothing more to say after that, and I usually do. We get out of the cab and walk into my building in silence, Laura quietly taking my hand in hers intertwining our fingers as we walked into the elevator. “I had a nice time Carmilla.”

“I did too Cupcake.” I say with a smile, reaching into my pocket for my keys. I unlock to the door, happy to find that Laf and Perry seemed to be out or in the nerd cave that was Laf’s room. I close the door behind me and lock it, taking my coat off to hand it on the hook near by. “So.” I say, turning to see Laura was sitting on the couch with Søren making his usual appearance out of think air.

“So.” She says, petting the top of Søren’s head.

“Do you want a drink or something?" 

“No thanks, how’s your head?”

“Hurts.” I say, opening the cabinet to get some aspirin. “But I think I’ll live.” I add, walking back into the living room, throwing my head back after taking the pill and some water.

“Good.” She says, watching me as I walk over and sit down on the chair beside her, putting the TV on.

“Do you want to watch something or?”

“You’re giving me such a power?”

“I think I should be afraid now.” I say, getting up from the chair and walking to my room, Laura tailing behind me as she nearly skips into her room, changes rather quickly as she is soon skipping out of her room in a t-shirt and blue print pajama pants before I even have the chance to close my door. I do a double take to make sure I wasn’t seeing anything. After changing, I make my way into the living room to see her curled up on the couch, a blanket around her, and Søren curled up on her lap. “You just moved at a vampire pace there, cupcake.”

“Well you have me the control of picking the show, so prepared to be amazed.” She says animatedly.

“Oh. God.”


	3. Chapter 3

-Carmilla POV-

“If you hit play and make me watch another episode of this show, so help me god cupcake, I will not be held accountable for my actions.” I say, taking the remote away from her. “You have made me sit through six episodes of this Doctor bullshit and I will not survive if you make me watch one more.” I say, turning the TV off and rubbing my eyes.

“Oh, Carm, don’t be such a grouch.” She chimes, grinning like a five-year-old.

“I’ll be a grouch all I want, that show is so annoying.”

“You didn’t even give it a chance though Carm.” She whines, following me into the kitchen.

“I did. Six chances as a matter of fact.”

“Well it’s still a good show, no matter what you say.” She says, sitting down at the kitchen counter.

“If you say so cutie, but I doubt that very much.” I say, leaning on the counter across from her.

“You’re a real pain. Are you aware?”

“I am very well aware, and if memory serves me correctly, you’ve already informed me of such things.” I say with a smirk when I see her cheeks flush slightly. “You get embarrassed easily.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Whatever you say Creampuff.” I say, pushing myself off of the counter. “I’ll be in my room.” I add, walking out of the kitchen and into my room. About two hours later there is a knock at my door. “What?” I shout my face buried in a book as per usual.

“So!?” Laf shouts, barreling through the door and crash landing on my bed.

“Yes?”

“How was your date you jerk?” They say trying hard to not hit me it seemed.

“It went well. There is nothing to complain about, aside from the face that I was forced through six hours of doctor some shit.” I say through a yawn, looking over to see that it was nearly three in the morning. “Why are you only getting in now?”

“Perry and I saw a late movie and it was longer than we thought.” They shrug. “That’s not the point, the point is that you clearly like Laura.”

“Really? What brought you to that conclusion gingy?”

“Well, you asked her out after a matter of two days of knowing her, and you actually watched six episodes of a show that you would never in a million years attempt to watch ever. So one would conclude that you do, in fact, like her very much.” They state.

“It’s too late to have this know it all discussion.” I say through a yawn. “You can pick my brain tomorrow, or better yet, don’t pick it at all.”

“She likes you.” They say quietly. “Granted it’s a bit too fast seeing as you only met three days ago, but that doesn’t mean that love at first sight doesn’t exist. It’s not always saved for the movies.”

“Okay, you’ve broke me, I could admit to you that I do like her, but it’s not worth perusing due to the fact that she’s going back home soon.”

“Laura, from what I do know, is a very spontaneous and headstrong girl, literally like bat-shit crazy sometimes, but when she gets herself invested in something, she does everything to can to right wrongs.”

“I thought you didn’t know Laura.”

“Oh yeah, I lied. Laura and I go back a bit, Perry, Laura, and I went to high school together.”

“And why did you fail to tell me this?”

“Oh I figured you wouldn’t want to talk to another friend of mine, and seeing as you haven’t been with anyone since –”

“Finish that sentence and you will be breathing out of a tube.” I say through gritted teeth.

“Okay, okay. Look, just give it more of a chance than you are.”

“I’ll put as much into this as I want to.” I say, turning off my light and pulling the quilt over my head. 

“Okay then.” Laf says, walking out of my room.

* * *

“Fancy seeing you here.” I hear a voice say from behind me as I put away an armful of books. I turn around to see Laura standing there with a smile on her face.

“Did Laf tell you where I work?” I ask, turning my attention back to the task at hand.

“No, I was actually exploring at bit and though it would be nice to browse around some books.”

“Ah, I see, coincidence is a beautiful thing.”

“You left early today. For someone that hasn’t been out of their room before noon since I got here.” Laura says quietly.”

“I had to be in this lovely place making minimum wage.” I say, walking past her and to the small cart of books.

“Yeah, but you had to be here the other day too and you still left at noon. I feel like I did something.”

“You didn’t do anything cupcake, it’s me.”

“Okay, but we went out three days ago, and we had what I thought to be a great time and since then you have avoided me.”

“Stop looking so deep into it. I have to get back to work before the real Christmas rush begins tomorrow.”

“You have trouble letting people in. As soon as you make progress you take three steps back.” Laura says, stopping me on my tracks.

“You think you know me? You’ve been here for what, two weeks and you magically know everything about me?”

“N-no, it’s just that you don’t give, you have this constant thing about you that just isn’t nice.”

“How much longer are you staying here?”

“Oh, Laf didn’t tell you? Oh wait of course they didn’t, I applied for a job at The Times and I got it, so I’m not going anywhere for a while, Laf said I could move in until I got on my feet and well, you’re stuck with me.”

“And how did mommy and daddy take the news about their only child moving to the big city?”

“They are proud of the fact that their pride and joy is working for The New York Times, I mean it’s not everyday that your only child gets a job working for such a prestigious newspaper.” She says, crossing her arms over her chest, clearly annoyed that I’m annoyed.

“Daddy’s loosening his leash, I see.”

“You don’t know my father so you have nothing to day.”

“So you do have a bite.” I state with a condescending tone.

“Look, if we’re going to be living together you should learn to lighten up.” She says, following me again like a lost puppy.

“And if we’re going to be living together, you should learn to leave me alone once in a while.” I say, walking into the break room to get away from the wrath of what seemed to be a cranky Laura Hollis, almost like she forgot to take he nap this afternoon. I peek through the curtain on the small window next to the door to see that she was still standing out there. I sigh, opening the door. “Look, I seriously have to get back to work, so if you want to bother me, you can do it later, seeing as you are going to be living in the same apartment as me.” I say, rolling my eyes.

“Okay then.” She says, turning on her heels and walking out of the store.

 

-Laura POV-

I leave Miss Cranky-pants to go back to work and make my way back to the apartment, I’m looking down at my phone when I slam into someone, nearly losing my footing and falling onto the cold sidewalk when the person I walked into grabs me and keeps me steady. “I’m so sorry.”

“No it was my fault.” The woman says, a warm smile on her face. “I was in a rush, I wasn’t paying attention.”

“I wasn’t either, I was looking at my phone, are you okay? I just want to make sure that you’re okay, oh my god I’m holding you up aren’t I? You said you’re in a rush and here I am, running into you and nearly falling on my ass, I have no clue how I’m going to survive in this city-”

“Whoa.” The woman says with a chuckle. “Take a breath before you pass out from exhaustion.”

“Sorry, I tend to do that when I get nervous, it’s been a thing for as long as I remember.” I say shyly, looking away from the piercing blue eyes. 

“Well, here is my card, if you ever want to ramble over a drink, just give me a call, unfortunately I have somewhere to be and I’m already late.” The woman says before walking away, I look down at the name on the card, thankful it was there seeing as I forgot to ask.

* * *

“Why are you smiling?” Laf asks as I walk through the door.

“I’m not smiling.” I say, closing the door and taking off my coat.

“Yes you are, you’re smiling like an idiot.”

“I kind of met someone, well I ran into them. She gave me her card.” I say, handing the card to Laf.

“Uhm, I don’t want to burst your bubble, but you can’t date her or have a drink with her or anything with her.” They say with wide eyes, crumpling the card in their hands.

“Why did you do that?”

“If Carmilla finds out that you have that, you will be living in the subway, or better yet, she’ll put you on a slow boat to China. You can’t go out with her.”

“Why?” I ask, getting more and more bothered by Laf.

“You just so happened to crash into Carmilla’s ex and that is something that is illegal in the United States, Canada, and The World for that matter.” Laf says, snatching the card from my hands again.

“What makes that such a big deal?”

“Okay, let me reword that. You just so happened to have run into Carmilla’s ex fiancée!” Laf says, ripping the card into tiny pieces. “If Carmilla finds out she will kill you.”

“Who let whom?”

“She left Carmilla, and since then, Carmilla has not gone on a date since, well, since you showed up.” Laf explains.

“And how long has that been?”

“Three years or so.”

“Shit.” I say, sitting down on the couch. “What does any of that have to do with me seeing her though?”

“If Carm sees Ell, hell may break loose, and if she sees you with her, who knows what will happen.” Laf says with a shrug.

“Okay, okay. I get it.” I say, putting my hands up in surrender.

“Good.” Laf says, getting up from the couch and walking to their room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this story is still in its infancy and I'm still feeling out how I would like things to go. I'm always up for whatever you guys have to say so feel free to comment and critique as much as you want.


	4. Chapter 4

-Carmilla POV-

“Word in the sandbox is that you were caught talking to someone you shouldn’t.” I hum into Laura’s ear, laughing lightly when I watch her jump a bit.

“Well we’ve been hanging out in a fairly small sandbox then.”

“Ell and I still talk.” I say, walking around the couch and sitting down beside her. “And I saw you crash into her outside of the store, so.” 

“Laf made it out to seem that she really destroyed you.” 

“She did Cupcake, don’t get me wrong. But we’re adults now. We were silly then. Things change. Besides, it’s none of Frankenstein’s business what I do and who I talk to.”

“What does this have to do with me, aside from the fact that I was, _potentially_ , going to be going out on a date with you ex fiancée?” She asks, scrunching up her nose.

“Well it has a lot to do with it actually, I mean, granted you don’t know her, and what you do with your life is all your own business Cutie, but I don’t want to be seeing her in and out of here if you plan on living here and watch you become a thing. Granted we play nice, Ell and I, but there is a fine line, you understand?”

“Carmilla, I don’t think I plan on doing that to you. Not only for the fact that she is the woman you planned to marry, but I don’t do things like that to people." 

“Why is that Cupcake?” I ask, leaning against the back of the couch. “What? I didn’t quite catch that?” I tease after she mumbles something under her breath.

“Because even though you have the tendency of being a real ass hole, I still like you.” She admits, her face turning bright red. 

“Oh, so you _do_ like me?”

“Yeah. I – I do. I mean yeah you’re an ass hole, like I said, and you have the tendency to be a real jerk, not to mention the fact that since we’ve been sharing a bathroom I have come to learn that you are such a slob. Have you ever heard of disinfectant cleaners? If not you really should learn how to use them, oh and the shower drain looks like Chewbacca died in there for goodness sake! Can’t you just reach down there and clean out _your_ mess, you seem to shed like crazy!” She rambles, getting increasingly animated with her hands as she explained further. “Oh! And let me not forget the real icing on the cake, the fact that I have found _my_ pillow in your room at least three times in the past week, what’s the deal with that?” She asks, finally making eye contact with me.

“The cat did it.”

“The cat did it? Because that little fur ball that weighs about ten pounds soaking wet, went into my room, jumped on my bed and walked my pillow into your room and managed to jump onto your bed with the pillow, that is just as big as they are, in their mouth successfully?”

“Exactly, Søren can be a real bastard sometimes.” 

“You’re a terrible liar.” She whispers in my ear. 

“How so?” I ask, turning to see a grin on her face.

“When you lie, you avoid eye contact to the point where you literally look at anything but the person, and your eye twitches just slightly before you tell the lie and just after.”

“How do you know that?”

“When you’re as great of an investigative journalist as I am, there are no secrets to hide, and there is no escaping the little details.” She says before getting up and walking down the hallway to her room.

“You’re very…" 

“Very what? Alluring, mysterious, sexy?”

“We’re not describing me cupcake.”

“Ha ha, so funny.”

“Not that you aren’t those things either buttercup.”

“Are you flirting with me?”

“Would it be so hard to believe Miss Hollis?” I ask, leaning against the doorframe.

“Coming from someone who gives people emotional whiplash, yes.” She says with a small chuckle.

“I see. Well, when I’m alone with someone as adorable as you are, and there are no witnesses to see me acting like a giant sap, the tendency to give you whiplash is one that is in fact unintentional.” I say, watching her hide her face shyly.

“So, the real you is the one that comes out to play when we’re alone, other than that it’s pulling my hair and taking my things?”

“Precisely.”

“You’re such a child.”

“Yeah, yeah.” I say, walking over to where she is sat on her bed. “So." 

“So?”

“When do you officially move in?”

“After Christmas, I’m going to do back home for the holiday and come back before the New Year with my parents.”

“That sounds like fun.”

“Carmilla?”

“Yes Cupcake?” I ask, turning to see that she is looking down at her lap, fiddling her thumbs nervously.

“You don’t have to, and I don’t want you to fee on the spot with me asking you this, but, and again only is you want to, uhm, would you like to come home with me for Christmas? You totally don’t have to if you have other plans or don’t want to. I mean we don’t know each other very well, but I would like for my parents to meet you and all before the confusing day of moving in here.”

“You’re asking me to come home with you for Christmas, correct?” I ask, trying to wrap my mind around when she just said.

“Yeah. I mean, you don’t have to, and I know it’s like super short notice and all.” Laura says, her face turning red.

“Calm down there buttercup, I’ll come home with you for Christmas, no problem.”

“Really?” She asks excited, throwing her arms around me, pulling me into a hug. “Thank you so much Carm.”

“Like I said, it’s no problem, besides it would be better to meet your parents properly, When do we leave?”

“The day after tomorrow.”

“I should go book a ticket then.”

 

-Laura POV-

“Daddy!” I shout, walking out of the terminal and running to give him a hug.

“How is my little girl?”

“I’m going good Dad. Where’s Mom?” 

“She’s home, she sent me to get you alone.” He says, looking over my shoulder. “Who is this?”

“This is Carmilla, my roommate. I told you about her the other day.” I say, turning to introduce them. “Carmilla, this is my father.”

“Nice to meet you Mr. Hollis.” She says, holding her hand out for him to shake, he takes it hesitantly, trying to figure her out.

“Nice to meet you too.” He says sternly. “So, we should get your bags and get you home before we have your mother worrying about us.” He says, wrapping his arm around my shoulder and leading the way to baggage claim, Carmilla trailing behind us quietly. The ride home was done in relative silence, seeing as I didn’t live too far from the airport and the fact that there wasn’t very much to talk about. We pull into the drive was and are greeted by my mother standing on the front lawn waving.

“My baby!” She says, walking over to give me a hug. “How are you, how was the flight? Are you excited to move to New York? You must be, oh my little girl has a job writing for The New York Times, what could be more exciting? Oh hello, I’m Jane, Laura’s mother, you must be Carmilla.” She says with a single breath.

“Hi Mrs. Hollis, nice to meet you. I can see where Laura gets her talkative nature.” Carmilla says with a small laugh.

“Yeah, it could be both a blessing and a curse, and please call me Jane. My husband on the other hand, as you may have already noticed, is a bit of a stuffed shirt, he likes formalities.” She says, rolling her eyes at him.

“I have to make myself seem scary, Jane, you know that.” He says with a smirk, kissing my mom on the side of her head before walking into the house, Carmilla’s bag in one hand on mine in the other. “Carmilla, you can call me Sherman.” He says over his shoulder.

“Okay Mr. Hollis. Uh, Sherman.” Carmilla says shyly.

“So are you going to be keeping an eye on my little girl while she’s so far from home?” He asks, leading the way up the stairs to my room, placing our bags in the floor.

“Yes sir.”

“Now I know you two are adults, and I trust that you won’t do anything but, Carmilla, if you don’t want to stay with Laura in her room I will be more than happy to set you up in the guestroom.” He says, pointing behind him. I look over at Carmilla to see her looking at me causing I nod slightly at our silent conversation.

“Daddy, Carmilla and I aren’t a thing, so there is nothing to worry about.” I say, sitting down on my bed.

“Like she said, there is nothing that would happen, but I think I’d like to be set up in the guestroom.”

“Okay, I shall lead the way.” He says with a smile and walking down the hall. I take off my shoes and get more comfortable on my bed. “Laura?” I hear my dad say from the doorway, I look up to see him walking into my room and closing the door slightly.

“Yes Dad?”

“This Carmilla girl, is she?”

“We went out once, nothing really happened.” I say, shaking my head.

“Well I’m no love expert really, but I think that there is something happening between you two, and I just want you to know that I think she’s a sweet girl.” He says with a smile.

“You just met her.”

“Father knows best kiddo. Don’t doubt me on that.” 

“She isn’t very… sociable Daddy, she’s the exact opposite if me.”

“Well, opposites attract Pumpkin.” He says with a smile, kissing me on the forehead before leaving the room. Soon after he left, there was a light knock at the door.

“Yeah?”

“Are you tired Sundance?” I hear Carmilla says as she walks into the room.

“A little.” I say through a yawn. “What?”

“Nothing Cupcake.”

“Liar.”

“I heard what your dad was saying, and what you said to him. I am sociable!” She says, playfully slapping me on the leg.

“Not entirely. There was that one time when we all went out to lunch and all you did was mumble you order and read your dopey book.” I say, turning on my side to face her better.

“I had to study! And Nietzsche isn’t dopey. I mean his mustache is a different story, but his ideas were pretty good and I had to include him in my thesis so shut it.” She says defensively causing me to laugh a bit. “Oh now you’re laughing at me.” 

“You’re so melodramatic Carm.”

“Okay Cupcake, I didn’t come in here to get informed of things I already know. I was just coming to see how you were after the flight and what not.”

“Oh so mistress of brood does care about the wellbeing of others.” I tease, taking her by the wrist to stop her from leaving.

“Only the cute ones.” She says with a wink. “Is all of this stuff coming back with us?” She asks, looking around the room

“Not all of it in one shot, just most of the books and journals I have, and my clothes of course, I already have a bed there and that dresser in the room.” I say, looking around and realizing I have more stuff that honestly could get thrown out for the most part.

“And we’re flying back with it?”

“Oh god no. I’m shipping most of it and my dad is driving to New York with whatever can’t be shipped. My mom is flying back with us. Laf already knows to expect packages if we aren’t back before they start showing up. Which may be the case.”

“Alright Cupcake. Are you happy to be moving out of Mommy and Daddy’s?”

“I am, and I have no complaints, I mean aside from the roommate situation.”

“You know all this teasing could give a girl whiplash.”

“Maybe that’s the intention.”

“Well, if that is the case, I need to go play somewhere else. Teasing isn’t all that fun when it’s strictly verbal cupcake.” She says with a wink, causing my cheeks to turn bright red. “Well, I’m going to go get some sleep. All this chit chat has made me tired.” She says, getting up from my bed. “I’ll see you later Buttercup.” Carmilla says over her shoulder, walking out of my room and closing the door.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOW, two chapters in a matter of a couple of days, that's a success on my part :)

-Carmilla POV-

I open my eyes and look up at a ceiling that has become familiar to me in the past few days, seeing as I spent most of my nights looking up at it thinking, and countless moments during that day doing just the same. Laura’s parents are extremely nice people, they’re almost too nice, seeing as I come from a family of barbarians that have no concept of the idea of what nice is. It is something I could get used to, being surrounded by nice happy people, no matter what mask I had to put on to make it seem like I wasn’t always yearning for happiness, although the Hollis household makes it hard to keep that mask on at all times. Laura was something else, something I needed in my life now. She was the ray of sunshine in the morning that knows how to make its way through the closed shades and shine directly into your eyes, making up wake up to start a new day. Well, Laura woke me up to start to be a new person. 

“Good morning.” I hear Laura chime from the doorway, breaking me from my thoughts. She was holding two mugs, and had a bright smile as she always did. She also had on a Santa hat.

“Morning Candy Cane.” I say with a smile, sitting up in bed to get a better look at the red and white pajamas she had on. She rolls her eyes as she walks over to me handing me one of the mugs. 

“Coffee with a, quote, little diddle of cream.”

“Thank you.” I say with a smile, taking a sip. “So what are you dressed like an elf for?”

“It’s Christmas Eve.”

“Oh right.” I say with a nod, placing my mug on the bedside table as Laura sits now.

“Yeah, we are going to my grandparents’ house tonight for my mom’s side, and then my dad’s side comes here.” 

“I may regret asking this, but what’s wrong?” 

“Nothing’s wrong. I just, I know how you are with meeting people, actually with people in general and I don’t want to put you on the spot with having to meet my family and I don’t want you to be uncomfortable.” 

“Everything will be okay Cupcake, I know how to play nice.” 

“I know you know how to, but how are you with kids? I have a few little cousins and I know that they zero in on anyone new that comes into the house.”

“I’ll be okay with the little monsters. Everything will be fine, stop being all worried. It’s like you’re seeking your family’s approval of me…you are aren’t you?” I deadpan, continuing to sip my coffee as I watch her face turn bright red.

“M-maybe." 

“You don’t have to deny the fact that you want me.” I say, stretching my arms over her head.

“I could say the same for you.”

“Laura! Carmilla! Come here please!” Sherman calls from down the stairs.

“Saved by the bell, Cutie.” I say, throwing the sheets off and getting out of bed.

“You never listen to anyone, but when my father calls you down, you are out of bed in the blink of an eye?”

“He _kinda_ scares the shit out of me.” I whisper, poking my head back into the room. I stop moving when Laura begins to crack up with laughter at what I just said. 

“He is probably the least threatening thing in the world, you are scarier than he is, Carm.”

“But like, look at him, he’s all built, and tall, and tatted, I wouldn’t want to piss him off. He seems like he’d snap me in half.” I say in all seriousness as tears begin to roll down Laura’s face.

“The man is afraid of spiders, Carmilla, we’re talking about a dork that would give me bear spray whenever I would go camping without him for a weekend.” She says, trying to compose herself, only to start laughing again.

“Come on." 

“Why are you laughing?” Jane asks as we walk into the kitchen.

“Dad makes Carm quake in fear.” Laura says through a laugh, causing Jane to laugh just as hard.

“He is the least terrifying person you may ever meet Carmilla, there is really nothing to be afraid of.” She says with a smile. “He cried more than Laura and I did when we went to see The Fault in Our Stars.” She whispers.

“I did not! The theater had a dust issue and it was all in my eyes.” Sherman says, running into the kitchen out of nowhere.

“Whatever helps you sleep at night, Sweetie.” Jane says, walking over to Sherman to kiss his cheek. 

“Anyway, we have to be at Gammy and Poppy’s by five, just so you two know. I would suggest getting ready now.”

“Okay Daddy.” Laura says, walking over to a plate with Christmas cookies on it.

“Hey! No!” Jane yells, swatting Laura away. “These are for later and I think it would be nice if the cookies actually made it to their destination this Christmas.” She says, taking the plate and handing it to Sherman for him to put on a high shelf.

“You have been denied cookies, Sundance, how are you going to survive.” I tease, trying not to laugh at the pout that has formed in her face.

“I won’t that’s the point, they want me to not be able to survive, they took away the only thing that sustains me.” She says melodramatically. 

“You lived on cookies and grape soda all through college, and we didn’t intervene until now.” Sherman says. “You need to go to cookie eaters anonymous.” He teases, kissing her on the forehead before disappearing again.

“You’re father is right, Laura.” Jane says, trying to hold back a laugh. “The first step is admitting you have a problem.” She says in mock sympathy before chuckling slightly, kissing Laura on the cheek and leaving the room.

“You know they’re right.” I say, crossing my arms over my chest. “I have never seen more cookies in my house. Since you got there two of my cabinets have become cookie cabinets.”

“Yeah, yeah. I have a problem; let’s move past this. We should start getting ready seeing as it’s already pushing two-thirty.”

“Wow, I slept in.”

“I can see how two in the afternoon is ‘sleeping in’ to you.” Laura says, rolling her eyes when I turned to look at her. “What are you wearing?” She asks, stopping in front of her room.

“Why, wanna match?” 

“No, just don’t wear leather.” 

“Why not?”

“Because I don’t want my family thinking poorly of you.”

“You dad has a tattoo of a dragon on his arm.” 

“Yeah, a dragon that can be covered by a long-sleeved shirt.”

“Okay, no leather.” I say, rolling my eyes and walking towards the guest room.

“You can wear those pants tomorrow though, my dad’s side of the family is a little more… approving of that sort of attire.” She says with a smile before disappearing into her room and closing the door. I walk into the room to get dressed into something festive, meaning an outfit that contains the color red. So opting for black skinny jeans, a black tank top, and red flannel seemed appropriate, as well as a pair of black combat boots, seeing as I had no other shoes.

 

-Laura POV-

“Okay, you got this. You aren’t a couple so there isn’t anything to make awkward when it comes introductions, she is only your roommate. Nothing to elaborate on, nothing to further explain.” I say to myself in the mirror as I put the last touches on my hair, and smooth out the red dress I decided to wear. “Everything will be okay.” I say, taking a deep breath and walking over to the door after there was a slight knock.

“Are you talking to yourself again, Buttercup?” Carmilla asks, leaning against the doorframe. “You look really nice.”

“Thank you, you look very nice too Carm. And for your information, I was not talking to myself.”

“Whatever you say Cupcake, ready to go downstairs?” Carmilla asks, standing up straight again and brushing her dark curly hair from her face.

“Lead the way.” I say, walking out of my room and turning off the light. She steps aside allowing me to go first. We get downstairs to see my parents standing in the entry way waiting for Carmilla and I, my mom fiddling with my dad’s ties as he types away at his phone before shoving it into his pocket.

“Ready to go?” He asks, turning to Carmilla and I. 

“Yes Daddy lets go.” I say, grabbing Carmilla’s coat and handing it to her before reaching for mine. She takes it from me, holding it open and helping me into it with a small smirk on her face. “Thank you.” I say, fixing my hair.

“No problem, Cutie.” She says with a wink, unashamed to be doing it in front of my parents as she shrugs into her own coat. The car ride seemed longer than I usually remember, but pulling up to my grandparents’ house was exciting nonetheless.

“Ready?” I ask, before getting out of the car.

“Will there be alcohol at this family function?” Carmilla whispers, walking over to me.

“Probably, why?” I ask with a small laugh. “You can’t get drunk, Carmilla.”

“Well now everything is fucked up.” She says sarcastically, looking at me with a smile as she wraps an arm around my shoulder, as my dad opens the door and we’re greeted by a warm house and laughter. “There are a lot of people.” She whispers in my ear as she helps me out of my coat.

“You’ll be okay.”

“Laura!” I turn to see a little boy bouncing over to me.

“Is that you, Mikey?” I ask, crouching down to give him a hug. “You got so big.”

“I’m five now.” He says, holding up his hand to show five. Then he waves me over. “Who’s that?” He whispers, pointing to Carmilla.

“This is my friend Carmilla, but you can call her Carm if that’s too hard. Carm, this is my little cousin, Mikey.” 

“Hi Carm.” He says with a wave.

“Hello little one.” She says with a small wave, couching down beside me.

“She’s very pretty.” Mikey says in my ear. 

“She is isn’t she?” I say, looking over at Carmilla.

“Watch out Cutie, wouldn’t want you family assuming we’re together.” She whispers in my ear, standing back up. “Come on little one, lead me to where the grown ups are drinking.” She says, holding her hand out for Mikey to take, he takes it with a smile and leads her towards the kitchen. I get up and walk into the living room where everyone is say talking, I’m greeted warmly by all of my relatives, making sure to say hello to everyone before settling in my usual corner of my grandparents’ living room, conveniently located next to a fireplace and in front of a large picture window. “For you.” Carmilla says, holding out a glass of wine for me as she sits down beside me on the small couch. 

“Thank you.” 

“I met Gammy in the kitchen.” 

“Oh really? How was that?”

“I told her I was your girlfriend, you know for the reason of making it less awkward.” She says, taking a sip from her glass.

“Because _that_ makes it less awkward?”

“Drink you wine and follow my lead.”

“Carm, Carm!” Mikey shouts, running over towards us. 

“Yes little one?” She asks, setting her glass in the windowsill.

“Wanna come play a game?” He asks, pulling at her hand. 

“Lead the way.” She says, standing up from the couch. “I’ll be around Sweetheart.” She whispers in my ear, kissing me on the cheek.

“So she’s your girlfriend?” My aunt asks, walking over with a smile.

“Yes Aunt Jackie, that’s Carmilla.” I say, taking another sip of wine. “We met in New York, she’s Perry’s friend’s roommate.”

“She’s seems very mysterious.” She says, looking over at where Mikey and Carmilla are playing with my other cousins, Grace and Toby.

“She is.” I say, watching her interact with the kids.

“You look at her like she’s the only person in the world.” Jackie says with a smile. “You must really love her.”

“I don’t know if I love her just yet, but I know I like her a lot.” I say quietly. Smiling wide when Carmilla looks over at Jackie and I, a playful glare on her face as she sticks her tongue out at me before turning her attention back to the little ones.

“She also seems to be very good with children.” Jackie chimes. “You’re a lucky girl Laura.” She adds, patting my knee before getting up and walking out of the room. I drink the last of the wine on my glass and get up, grabbing Carmilla’s before walking over to where she is with the kids.

“Laura, Laura!” Toby and Grace says as I sit down beside Carmilla on the floor.

“Hi.” She says quietly, taking her glass from me. “Thank you.” She says, kissing the side of my head. 

“Laura, is Carmilla your bestest friend ever?” Grace asks, sitting in my lap. 

“Yes she is.” I say, hugging the four-year-old.

“How long have you been best friends?” She asks, pulling at the hem of her dress. 

“A few weeks, mini muffin.” Carmilla chimes. 

“Is that a long time?” The four-year-old asks, cocking her head to the side. 

“Kind of.” 

“Okay you little monsters, Laura and I need to go spend time with the grown ups.” Carmilla says, standing up as the three kinds whine. “I know, it stinks, but we will return.” She says, holding her hand out for me and pulling me to my feet, lacing her fingers with mine as she leads the way into the kitchen. “Thank you.” She whispers in my ear.

“For?” 

“Saving me from the gremlins. I mean they seem like good kids, don’t get me wrong, but when someone can barely form a sentence properly, I can only take so much.” She says, drinking the last of the wine from her glass. “Hey Gammy.” Carmilla chimes when we walk into the kitchen to find her sitting there. 

“Hello Carmilla. Laura why didn’t you tell me you had a girlfriend, such a beautiful girl too.” Gammy says.

“I wanted it to be a surprise Gammy.” I say, sitting down at the table beside her.

“Where did you meet?” 

“We met in New York when I went to go visit Laf. She’s Laf’s roommate." 

“Here Cupcake.” Carmilla says, placing her hand on my shoulder before putting a glass in front of me.

“Thank you.” I say with a smile, leaning up to kiss her cheek.

“So what is it you do Carmilla?” Gammy asks as Carmilla sits down next to me, putting her arm around my shoulder.

“Well, Gammy, I am a PhD student at Columbia studying Philosophy.” Carmilla explains proudly.

“Smart young lady.” Gammy chimes. “She’s a keeper Laura.”

“Hear that Cupcake, Gammy says I’m a keeper.” Carmilla says playfully.

“But Gammy doesn’t know what it takes to clean up after you.” I tease, turning to look over at Carmilla with a smile.

“Yeah, that’s true.” Carmilla says, taking a sip from her glass.

“You two make me want to puke.” My cousin says from the other side of the kitchen.

“You’re just annoyed that you’re pushing thirty and don’t have a girlfriend, Peter. Leave my granddaughter alone.” Gammy snaps. Peter scoffs and rolls his eyes before leaving the room. “He’s just always grumpy.” Gammy says, shaking her head.

“Carmilla?” Grace asks, walking up to her.

“Yes little one?”

“Can you sit with me at dinner?” Grace asks, looking up at Carmilla with bright blue eyes.

“You should ask Laura if it’s okay.” Carmilla said, watching the little girl walk over to me.

“Is it okay if Carmilla sat with me for dinner?”

“That’s okay, but I get her for dessert and presents.” I say with a smile, giving the little girl a kiss on the cheek.

“Thank you Laura, come on Carmilla, we get to sit with Mikey and Toby.” Grace says, pulling at Carmilla’s hand and leading her to the dining room.

“Laura, Sweetie.” Gammy says, waving her hand for me to walk over to her when I stood up to follow Carmilla.

“Yes Gammy?” I ask, walking closer to her.

“You keep that young lady for as long as you can. She needs you and you need her.” Gammy says, placing her hand on my cheek and smiling. “Gammy knows best.”

“I know Gammy.” I say, kissing her on the cheek and helping her to the dining room. After dinner, and everyone loving Carmilla, we were finally gathered in the living room again to exchange presents, most of them going to the little kids, but I was still happy to get a couple of notebooks and stationary from my aunts and uncles. I was surprised that Carmilla even got a couple of last minute gift cards from everyone, seeing as they were only informed that she was coming two days prior. All in all, the night was a success. When we got home, Carmilla and I went right up stairs and changed into something comfortable before helping my mom get ready for tomorrow. 

“Hey, Cupcake?”

“What’s up Carm?” I ask, walking to see her back towards me.

“I just can’t seem to get the right height your parents wanted with this, can you help me out?” She says, turning to face me and holding mistletoe above her head, her signature smirk dancing across her face. 

“You know.” I say, walking over to her with my arms crossed over my chest. “You are probably the biggest dork I have ever met.”

“Well you seem to inspire it in me.” She chimes. “It’s bad luck not to kiss under a mistletoe.”

“Oh is it?” I ask, taking a step closer to her.

“I’m not sure about that statistic, but it is fun, no?” She asks, leaning in to kiss me quickly, pulling away and looking at me with a smile. 

“That wasn’t fun.” I tease, turning around to walk away when she takes me by the wrist, pulling me into her and wrapping her arms around my waist, leaning in to kiss me again, this time with a little more spunk, as I place my hands behind her neck.

“What about that?” She whispers against my lips.

“That was fun, although we weren’t under the mistletoe.” I tease, giving her a quick peck again before getting back to what I was doing, trying hard to hide the smile on my face, but failing to do so based on the level of heat radiation from my cheeks. 

“Your cheeks are red enough to melt all the snow that has formed in the driveway.” My dad said as I walked into the living room. “And don’t try to underplay it.” 

“What is Laura underplaying?” My mom asks as she walks into the room from the kitchen. 

“That fact that she just kissed Carmilla.” My dad says out of the blue. I turn to face my mom to see her visibly sigh.

“I owe you twenty, don’t I Sherman?” She asks, walking over to where her purse was, and taking out her wallet. “Shit.” 

“Whoa, hold on, you placed a bet?” I ask, trying to wrap my mind around several things.

“Well, your mother thought Carmilla was going to kiss you tomorrow under the mistletoe, but I bet that she would do it tonight in some cheesy manor, so I won of course cause I would have done the same thing Carmilla did.” He says, shoving the money in his back pocket.

“You did do that, the first Christmas we spent together, we were dating for two months and we were, what seventeen? So we didn’t really have a lot of experience with everything seeing as we were total late blooming nerds, so your father pulled the whole mistletoe trick on me.” My mom said, walking over to my dad and kissing him.

“That’s good luck in the family Laura, if you kiss the person your dating under the mistletoe, and it just so happens to be the first kiss with that person, then you end up having a very fulfilling life with that person.” My dad says, wrapping his arm around my mom’s shoulder. 

“You’re kidding aren’t you?” 

“If only we were.” My mom says with a small laugh. “That following year was the year I fell in love with your father, and then two years later, he proposed to me on Valentine’s day.” She adds, looking down at the rings on her finger.

“And, if that time ever came, and Carmilla didn’t ask permission, the marriage will end in divorce.” My dad adds quietly.

“Now that is a lie. Don’t tell her that.” My mom says, hitting him on the arm. “They barely made it properly official, marriage is out of the question for a while.”

“Okay, the mistletoe is hung just right, and I’m not going to pretend I didn’t hear the conversation going on, let’s face it we all know that would be a lie. And just so you know, I have no intentions on ever doing anything that will disrespect you guys or your daughter.” Carmilla says, walking up behind me and wrapping her arms around my waist.

“We trust you to take care of our little girl while she is so far from home.” My dad says with a smile, walking over to hug Carmilla.

“I wouldn’t want to do anything less.” Carmilla says, kissing me on the cheek.

“Okay, we are off to bed.” My mom says, taking my dad’s hand and leading the way upstairs.

“Goodnight girls.” They say at the same time as they reach the top of the stairs.

“So we’re a _thing_ now?” Carmilla asks, placing her hands on my hips. 

“Well seeing as you started it, you can’t really question it.” I say playfully as she leans in to kiss me again.

“If only you knew how long I waited to do that, Cupcake.” She says with a smile. 

“Probably just as long as I have.” I chime, kissing her again.

“Since that day you made me go on those ice skates of death.”

“Oh, you mean that time you fell flat on your ass and never wanted to speak about it again? That day, where you made a fool of yourself?” I tease, stepping out of her embrace as she mumbles something under her breath. “What was that?”

“You’re lucky you’re cute.” She says, making her way upstairs. I make sure everything is shut off before following her; she stops at my room and stands in front of me. 

“You know, you could sleep with me.”

“Ah, yes, but that wouldn’t be appropriate.” Carmilla says through narrow eyes. 

“Oh come on, you don’t want to cuddle with me?” 

“We’ll wait ‘til we get home for cuddling, okay?” She says, leaning in to kiss me. “Goodnight Cupcake.” She adds with a smile before kissing me again. 

“Goodnight Carm.” I say, watching her disappear into the guest room.


	6. Chapter 6

-Carmilla POV-

After spending the past few days at the Hollis house, it was nice to finally get back to the hustle and bustle of New York City. “Home sweet home.” I say to Laura and her parents as we get out of the cab.

“This is a very nice area.” Sherman says, nodding his head approvingly.

“Well, when your mother is Dean of Students at one of the most prestigious schools in New York, and a family decent enough to leave you a trust fund, you can afford a place like this.” I say, walking up to the doorman, giving him a small wave as he opens the door. I lead the way towards the elevator, pushing the button once everyone was in, and taking Laura’s hand in mine.

“Welcome.” Laura says to her parents as I open the door to the apartment.

“Well, that’s a face I thought I wouldn’t see again.” Jane says with a smile when she walks in to see Laf sitting on the couch.

“Mrs. H! How are you?” They say, getting up from the couch to give her a hug. “Mr. H, sir, how are you?” They add in mock seriousness. Receiving a hug from him as well. While Jane and Sherman catch up with Laf, I make my way towards my room, greeting Søren before throwing myself down on my bed.

“Hey.” I hear Laura say before walking into my room and lying down next to me. “My parents won’t stop talking to Laf.”

“Is that so?” I ask, closing my eyes and wrapping an arm around her, pulling her closer to me and kissing her on her cheek.

“Yeah, it’s annoying.”

“Not really.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah, I mean, I get to lay here and cuddle with you.” I say sleepily before realizing what I just said. “If you repeat that to anyone this relationship is over.” I warn, receiving a playful kiss in return.

“You’re lucky you’re cute.”

“ _I’m_ lucky I’m cute? You’re lucky that you have found someone as cute as me, cupcake.” I tease, receiving a shove. “That was unnecessary.” I say, rubbing my arm.

“It was completely necessary.” She chimes, turning her back to me. I wrap my arm around her waist and pull her in closer, kissing the back of her neck.

“Hey nerds!” Laf shouts as the throw something at Laura and I, jolting her awake.

“What is your problem?”

“The fact that I had to hear it through Papa Hollis that you two are a thing.” They complain, crossing their arms over their chest.

“What did you want us to come through with a ticket tape parade on a float that said, ‘guess what happened when we were away?’ or did you want to be told properly?”

“The ticket tape parade would have been the best option.” They say with a nod.

“You’re an ass hole for waking me up.” I say, lying back down.

“Where are my parents?”

“They went to check into their hotel, they said they’ll be back tonight for dinner, Perry’s cooking.” Laf says, turning on their heels to walk out the door. “Mind you, you have been sleeping for a while now, it’s nearly three o’clock, and they should be here by six.”

“Three hours, perfect.” I say, curling up and getting comfortable again.

“You’re really going back to sleep?”

“I’m pretty sure you know the answer to that, cupcake.” I say, groaning as my phone begins to ring. “Or not.” I say, grabbing my phone from the bedside table. “Hello?”

 _“Carmilla?”_ I hear the familiar voice say on the other line. _“What’s wrong?”_

“Nothing, I was just sleeping Mother, what’s up? How are you?”

_“I’m fine, just wanted to check up, how are you, it’s been a couple of weeks.”_

“I know Mom, a lot happening, studying and what not.” I say, rubbing my eyes and looking at Laura, sticking my tongue out at her playfully causing her to laugh a bit.

_“Who was that?”_

“A friend.”

 _“Carmilla.”_ She says in a warning tone. _“I want to meet this friend. It’s been a while since you’ve had a friend after that Ell girl.”_

“You’ll meet her when I’m ready, don’t worry mother.” I explain, pinching the bridge of my nose.

_“We all know how long that may take, why can’t you bring her by after New Year’s? I’d like to have her over for dinner before I have to go back to work.”_

“I’ll talk it over with Laura and then get back to you.” I say, looking over to see a curious look on Laura’s face.

_“Okay, sweetie, let me know as soon as possible. Talk to you soon.”_

“Okay, bye.” I say, hanging up the phone and tossing it on the bed.

“What’s wrong?” Laura asks, moving my hair from my face.

“It was my mom, she wants to know it you’d be interesting in going to her place to have dinner, she wants to meet you.”

“I would like that.”

“I will call her tomorrow then and tell her. I’m not calling her back now.” I say quietly. “My mom has never met anyone I was with, except for Ell of course, you better feel special, Cupcake.”

“I do feel special being with such a dork like you.” Laura teases, leaning over to kiss me. “Whatever Perry is starting to cook smells really good.” She says, getting out of bed and stretching her arms over her head.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

“I am going to shower and change into something comfortable before my parents come back, and go see it Perry needs any help with dinner.”

 

-Laura POV-

“So what are you making?” I ask Perry as I walk into the kitchen.

“Spaghetti and meatballs, as per your father’s request.” She says, looking through the spice cabinet.

“Of course, if he could, he would live off of it.”

“So, you and Carmilla?” Perry chimes as she continues to pay attention to her cooking.

“What about us?” I ask, walking over to sit down at the small table.

“LaFontaine says you’re a thing.”

“We are in the beginning stages of what would be considered a ‘thing’, yes.”

“She’s a very tough person to be with from what Laf tells me.”

“Carmilla has a lot of depth to her, I know that, but I also know that she isn’t as bad as she is made out to be.” I say, playing with the placemat.

“As long as you know she is willing to make you happy and stick to her word with you, there should be nothing to worry about. And you know that she isn’t going to be set in her ways more so than she is now.”

“I trust her Per, I trust her very much.”

“You just met her though too, don’t forget you barely know her.”

“I never felt like I know someone more than I know Carmilla, there is something about her that is different.”

“Maybe she’s your soul mate or something.” Perry says as she stirs a pot.

“Maybe.”

“Maybe what?” Carmilla asks, walking into the kitchen and over to the fridge.

“Maybe Perry is going to make garlic bread with dinner.”

“Oh, well, have fun with that Betty Crocker.” Carmilla chimes, getting a beer out of the fridge and walking back into the living room.

“I’m going to go sit with Carm.” I say, getting up and walking into the living room, taking a seat next to Carmilla on the couch, curling into her side as she wraps her arm around my shoulder, pulling me closer as I rest my head on her shoulder.

“What do you want to watch, Creampuff?” She asks, flipping through the channels before turning on Netflix.

“You can choose.” I say, taking her beer from her hand and taking a sip.

“Ew, you two sound like you’re married for Christ’s sake.” Laf says, walking into the room with their laptop in hand and sitting down on the chair.

“So do you and Perry, so shut up.” Carmilla says, putting on some foreign film.

“What the hell is this?”

“A Royal Affair, or something like that. The girl in it looked hot so, why not. I don’t care what language she is speaking I just want to look at her face.” Carm says with a smirk as she begins to get engrossed in the story.

“Okay, I will give it to you, she is really hot. Subtitles are annoying though.”

“Well I’m not fluent in Danish, so they are greatly appreciated.” Carmilla says, pulling me closer into her and taking a sip from her beer. Soon there was a knock at the door, but Carm and I were so into the beginning of the movie that we acted like we didn’t hear anything.

“Sure thing, I’ll just get that, I mean it couldn’t be Laura’s parents or anything like that.” Laf says, getting up and walking in front of the television screen.

“What are you two watching?” My dad asks, standing behind us and looking at the TV when he walks in.

“Hot girl, speaking Danish, the king is an ass hole.” I say absentmindedly.

“The doctor gets his head chopped off in the end, after she gets exiled.” My mom says, picking up the remote and shutting off the TV.

“What the hell Mom? Why would you ruin the end?”

“It’s still worth watching, a lot goes on in between and you’ll end up watching it a thousand times knowing you.” She says, handing me the remote.

“Hello Carmilla.” My dad says.

“Hello Sherman, would you like something to drink?” Carmilla asks, getting up from the couch. “Jane? Anything?”

“I’ll have whatever you’re having.” He says, sitting down on the couch as Carmilla turns to go to the kitchen.

“I’ll have water Dear.” My mom says, sitting down in the chair opposite from where Laf is sitting.

“So how do you like the place?”

“I think you will be great here Sweetie.” My dad says, kissing me on the side of my head. “You’ll have to be careful commuting downtown on the subway, but I think you will be very happy here. Thank you.” He says when Carmilla hands him a beer, handing me one, and my mom her glass of water

“Now seeing as we didn’t get a chance to give you the grand tour. This is obviously the living room, over here is the kitchen.” Carmilla begins as my parents get up and start to follow her. “Over here is a dining area, then we have Laf’s cave, the bathroom, and my cave, and over here we have Laura’s room.”

“Carmilla is right across from you?”

“That was mere coincidence from when she came to visit, my room isn’t meant to be a bedroom Sir, but I just loved the coziness it provided that I couldn’t not have it be my bedroom, so I turned the office, or study, whatever you want to call it into my bedroom and the other room we decided to leave a guest room.” Carmilla explained, opening the door to her room to prove a point as to how small it was compared to my room.

“Those bookshelves are to die for.” My mother coos, walking a bit further into Carmilla’s room to admire the floor to ceiling bookcases.

“I could resist having them solely as my own, which is also why I made this room my own.”

“Did you real all of these books Dear?” My mom asks, turning her head to read the titles.

“Mostly all of them yes, the ones towards where you’re looking are newer ones added to the growing collection, so I may not have read all of those, but from the shelve up from that one to the top, yes I read all of those.”

“You must be a very smart and well rounded student.” My mom chimes with a smile.

“I’m graduation at the top of my class.”

“That’s wonderful! I bet your parents are proud.”

“Very much so.” Carmilla says quietly, looking over at me and smiling slightly.

“Okay, I’m going to go see if Perry needs any help.” I say, turning on my heels and walking out of the room.

 

-Carmilla POV-

“Carmilla?” Jane asks, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Yes Jane?”

“Do you care for my daughter?”

“Is this because we haven’t known each other that long?”

“Kind of, yes.”

“I care about your daughter in ways that I never thought I would be able to care for someone. Despite the fact that I only just met her not too long ago, that doesn’t make me feel any less towards her.”

“Laura just, she hasn’t had it easy with relationships, or lack thereof. She just… I don’t want her heart getting broken.”

“You and Sherman have nothing to worry about. I can only imagine how hard it must for you to see your little girl move so far away, but I want you to know that I have no intentions on hurting her or letting anything happen to her.” I say reassuringly. “I will tell you that a thousand times if it makes you feel good, I will tell you a million if it helps you to stop worrying.”

“What about a trillion?” Jane says with a small laugh.

“Then I will tell you a trillion. You have nothing to worry about when it comes to me caring for you daughter.” I say with a chuckle, as Jane walks over to give me a hug. I hesitate for a moment before giving in and hugging her back.

“She’s my only baby, we worry about her. I mean, I’m not sending her here with bear spray, or giant rat spray, but if my husband wasn’t so neurotic, I think I would be.” She teases. “I like you Carmilla, I think you and Laura have a lot of potential.”

“I think we do too, Jane.” I say as honestly as I can in order to give her a piece of mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there. So the movie mentioned is called 'A Royal Affair' it is on Netflix, and the hot chick in question is the amazingly talented Alicia Vikander, who is equally hot. If you don't know who she is, you should, but that's just my opinion. Anyway, thank you for the love and what not :)


	7. Chapter 7

-Carmilla POV-

“Carm, stop fidgeting.” Laura says as we walk down the snow-covered sidewalk.

“I’m cold.”

“No you aren’t, you haven’t stopped squeezing at my hand, or whatever it is you are doing, since we left the house.”

“Cupcake, we have to keep going, if we’re late who knows what will happen.”

“Carmilla, take a deep breath and calm down. Everything will be okay.” She says reassuringly, placing her hand on my cheek. “There is nothing to get worked up over.”

“This is the first time you are meeting my family. My mother and I just don’t get along very well, and I don’t want her picking on you or something twisted.”

“I think you’re overreacting Carmilla, everything will be okay. I’ll be on my best behavior, answer whatever questions she’s going to throw at me, and let her know how much her daughter means to me.” Laura says with a smile, leaning in to kiss me.

“I just don’t want her to pull one of her acts or something, like if she seems too ass kissing then just know it is an act, she is not one to kiss anyone’s ass.”

“I really like you Carm, even if you are the biggest jerk on the planet, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that I like you very much. You need to know that, if I didn’t like you nearly as much as I do, your jerkiness and overall void of knowing how to clean would have been a deal breaker.”

“Well I guess my overall ass hole vibe doesn’t get in the way of how adorable I am.” I tease, kissing her again before letting of her hand and wrapping my arm around her shoulder, kissing her on the side of her head as we walk down the block a bit more, finally reaching my mother’s house. “Ready?” I ask, walking to the top of the steps to get to the front door.

“As I’ll ever be.” Laura says with a smile, leaning in to kiss me again. I take a deep breath and open the door.

“Hello?” I call out; closing the door behind Laura once she got inside and helping her out of her coat.

“Carmilla?” My mom calls out from, what may be, the kitchen.

“Yes Mother, it’s me.” I say, hanging up my coat as Laura takes my hand and I lead us to the kitchen. “Hello mother.”

“Hello sweetie.” She says, wiping her hands in a towel before giving me a hug.

“This is Laura.” I say with a small smile when she lets go of me.

“Nice to meet you Laura.” She says, giving Laura a hug.

“Nice to meet you too Mrs. Karnstein.” Laura says.

“Please, call me Lilita.” She says happily. Laura turns to look at me, giving me a slightly confused look.

“Do you want something to drink?”

“Just water.” Laura says, sitting down at the island counter. I get Laura a water bottle out of the fridge and pour myself a glass of wine, if I’m going to be dealing with my mother, I’m not going to do it sober. “Thank you.” Laura says when I place the bottle in front of her.

“You’re welcome.”

“I’m just going to come right out and say it, how did you two meet?”

“She came with Laf’s friend Perry and we kind of hit it off from the beginning.”

“That’s good, now what do you do Laura?”.

“I just got a job at The New York Times, but before that I was working for a small paper back home in Silas.”

“So you’re moving to the city?”

“I actually have already, Carmilla and Laf are letting me stay with them until I can find my own place, seeing as they have the extra room.”

“That’s very nice of you dear.” My mom says to me. “Maybe things will go well enough that Laura wouldn’t have to move out.”

“Yeah maybe.” I say quietly.

“So, Laura, tell me some more about you.”

“There isn’t much else, graduated at the top of my class. My father is a construction worker, my mother works as a florist. Only child.” Laura says with a small shrug.

“Are you keeping Carmilla in check?”

“Is Carmilla ever in check, Lilita?” Laura teases, turning to kiss me on the cheek. “For the past couple of months though, yes, I am keeping her in check, but then again she is a big girl.”

“Is anyone else coming here?” I ask, pouring myself another glass of wine.

“Your father is on his way over.”

“Seriously?” I ask, putting the cork back in the wine bottle.

“Yeah, he actually found time to take off from work on a Thursday evening.” She explains with a smile. “You two don’t have to stay in here with me, you can give Laura a bit of a tour.”

“Shall we?” I ask, walking over to Laura, taking her hand in mine.

“You never mentioned your dad.” Laura says when we were out of the kitchen.

“He works a lot, I honestly didn’t think you were going to end up meeting him so I never thought it would matter to mention.” I say, leading her into the living room.

“What does he do?”

“He is a lawyer, and a very good one at that. He never had a day off really. I think he had Christmas off, but I wasn’t here this year.”

“Well it isn’t like your Christmas sucked.” Laura chimes, leaning over to kiss me.

“Well, well, well, look who it is.” I hear someone say from the entryway, causing Laura and I to jump a bit.

“Hey Pop.” I say, getting up from the couch as walking over to hug him.

“It’s been a while kiddo.” He says, holding me tight. “Who is this lovely girl?”

“This is my girlfriend, Laura Hollis. Laura this is my father, Matthew.” I say, watching Laura walk over to us with a smile.

“Nice to meet you Mr. Karnstein.” She says, holding out her hand for him to shake.

“You can call me Matt, but Mr. Karnstein is okay.” He says with a smirk.

“Dad, don’t be a jerk.” I say, elbowing him in the side a bit.

“Hey you’re still my kid, can I say one thing? She is a lot prettier than that Ell girl.” He says in my ear. “I think you needed to leave her to find Laura.”

“I think so too Dad.”

“So, let me go run upstairs and get out of this suit, say hello to your mother and then I’ll get to the interrogation part.” He teases before disappearing.

“You look more like him than your mother.”

“Lilita is my Stepmom, but she basically raised me so I call her Mom.”

“What happened to your mother?” She asks, cocking her head to the side.

“She passed away during child birth.” I say quietly. “She lost too much blood and well, yeah. My dad says I look a lot like my mother, more so than he ever could have imagined.”

“I bet she was a very beautiful woman.” Laura says, hugging me.

“Want to see a picture?”

“Of course.” Laura says with a smile. I give her a kiss on the cheek before leading her upstairs to my father’s office.

“Mind you, in this picture I look hideous.” I warn, taking the picture off of his desk and holding it to my chest. “Also I’m covered in goop.” I grimace, turning the picture to show Laura. Watching her face light up in awe.

“You were funny looking out of the womb.”

“Yeah, yeah. Some of the best looking people were very ugly babies.”

“You do look a lot like your mother, Carmilla. Well now as an adult, you look like a gremlin as a baby.”

“Like you were a good looking baby?”

“I was a very pretty baby, I didn’t look like a mandrake root.” Laura says with a laugh.

“Prove it when we get home.” I say taking the picture and putting it back on my dad’s desk.

“Fine, you’ll see how adorable I was, and still am.”

“Well I can’t argue with that.” I say, placing my hands on her waist as Laura places her hands on the back of my neck.

“Of course you can’t.” She says quietly, leaning in to kiss me.

“Carmilla!” I hear my mother call out, breaking me away from the trance Laura always manages to put me in.

“Ready?”

“Where did you two disappear to?” My dad asks as we walk into the kitchen and sit at the table.

“I was showing Laura something.”

 

-Laura POV-

“So, Laura, what do you do?” Matthew asks.

“I’m a journalist for The Times, I just started about three weeks ago.”

“That’s interesting. Did you always want to go into journalism?”

“I knew from high school that I wanted to, I was involved in the school paper and my teacher told me I had a gift for journalism.”

“That’s good to find your knack early on.” Matthew says with a nod.

“Yes, it’s very good. Carmilla here is still trying to find the meaning of life.” Lilita says.

“Because getting a doctorate in a subject that I can then teach is such a waste of time.” Carmilla says, picking up her wine glass.

“I’m not saying it’s a waste of time, I’m just saying that you’ve been going to school forever and still have nothing to show for it.” Lilita says with a shrug.

“So you’re saying it’s a waste of time. I get it; I will never be the favorite because I don’t live up to the expectations you have set for me. Mattie is obviously better than me because she is _your_ daughter, who has a job, and Will is better than me as well because he is _your_ son and is going to the school that you are the dean of, and is pursuing a career in law with the intentions of becoming a lawyer. And I’m just the kid that the man you married had with some other woman, always the disappointment.” Carmilla says, downing the rest of the wine on her glass before filling it up again.

“Just because they have more on the ball than you do, doesn’t mean they are favorites. You’re just staying in school to keep busy.” Lilita says snarky.

“Lilita, leave her alone.”

“What, I didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Leave my daughter alone.”

“Okay.” Lilita says, taking a sip from her wine glass. I look over to see Carmilla shaking with anger, I place my hand on her knee and feel her calm down by the small gesture. The rest of dinner took place in awkward silence, Lilita eventually excused herself to her office, leaving Carmilla, Matthew, and I to ourselves.

“I’m sorry for my wife.” Matthew says as we walk into the living room, Carmilla remaining in her weird mood. “Her and Carmilla never got along.”

“It’s nothing for you to apologize for.” I say, taking Carmilla’s hand in mind when we sit down on the couch.

“She’s the one that should fucking apologize.” Carmilla mumbles. “She always does that, that’s why I never come around, especially because you’re never here either.” She adds, looking at her father.

“You know that since you started going to college I started working a lot more, there isn’t anything more I can do about that, and you are working hard with school, everything will be okay before you know it Carmilla.” Matthew says reassuringly.

“Okay Dad.” Carmilla says quietly. “I wanna get going, I’m tired and have a paper to work on.”

“Yeah, you two should go, it’s getting late.” Matthew says, standing up to give us both a hug before walking towards the door. “Take care of my daughter Laura.”

“Don’t worry Sir, I will.”

“Good. She deserves to be taken care of properly, she deserves to be happy.”

“She makes me happy Dad, don’t worry about that. I’ve never been as happy as I’ve been in the past three months.” Carmilla says wrapping an arm around my waist, kissing the side of my head.

“Get home safe, text me when you get home, and it was nice to meet you Laura.” Matthew says as he ushers us out of the house. After we got home Carmilla took a shower to relax and I changed into my pajamas, after working on an article for a little while, there was a light knock on the door, knowing right away it was Carmilla, I moved over on the bed to make room for her as she walked into my room.

“Feel better?” I ask as she lies down beside me, resting her head on my shoulder as I continued to work on my article.

“A lot better, yes.”

“Wanna see something?”

“Okay.” She mumbles into my neck before laughing a bit. “You look like a mandrake root too.” She says with a laugh, sitting up a bit.

“I’m a cute mandrake root though, you looked like an ugly one. You can’t even deny it.”

“No I can’t.” Carm says, looking over at me and leaning over to kiss me.

“You’re so whipped, it’s so funny.” I whisper against her lips before kissing her again.

“If being whipped is wrong, then I have no reason to want to be right.” She says kissing me again. I feel Carmilla close my laptop and move it to the bedside table, not breaking the kiss as she straddles my hips, running her hands down my stomach. She breaks away from the kiss and starts kissing down my neck.

“Carmilla.” I whine; getting caught up in the sensation of her kiss me rather quickly. She hums a response. “I – I.” I stutter, not being able to thread the words together.

“Tell me.” She whispers in my ear as her hands begin to play with the hem of my shirt.

“I – I think I’m falling in love with you.” I say, barely above a whisper.

“You think you are?”

“I do.” I say, placing my hands on her cheeks.

“Well, I think I’m falling in love with you too.” Carmilla says with a smile, kissing me again.

“Well thank god for that.” I tease, flipping Carmilla onto her back.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter takes an unexpected turn, but I feel like I needed to add it....

-Carmilla POV-

“Look who it is.” A voice chimes behind me as I stack a shelf with books. I turn around to see Ell standing behind me with a grin on her face. “It’s been a while.”

“It has been.” I say, crossing my arms over my chest. “How are you?”

“I’ve been good. How are you? I saw your dad at the office the other day.”

“Oh really? What did he say?” I ask, turning towards the bookshelf to continue with my work.

“He said that you and Laura are pretty serious. To think I almost went out with her.” Ell chuckles slightly at the thought.

“Yeah, we’ll be together six months tomorrow.”

“Six months? That’s great Carmilla, I’m very happy for you.”

“Okay, I find that to be a real lie, but okay.”

“Why do you have to do that?” Ell snaps, grabbing me by my elbow and turning me around.

“Do what?” I ask, pulling my arm away.

“Be an ass hole all the time.”

“Because you were an ass hole to me the whole time we were together and then _cheated_ on me while we were engaged. I thought that I was an ass hole, but then you out did it for me.” I explain, trying to keep up with work. “Look, you had to have come here to bother me at work for some other reason than just to talk, so you should just say it and leave before I get in trouble for falling behind and don’t make it home in time to be there before Laura.”

“You sound like you’re married to the little thing, anyway, I came to ask you a favor.”

“What kind of favor?”

“I need you to come with me to a dinner for the firm, some benefit banquet thing.”

“Why do you need me to come with you? Can’t you ask Betty or someone else? I mean you left me for her for whatever reason and now what? You broke up or something?”

“Come on, you get free food and drinks out of it, you don’t even have to seem interested, you can sit with you parents or something.”

“No, I’m not going. I can’t believe you would ask me that.”

“Maybe Laura will be there doing press, or got invited and she didn’t tell you.”

“How do you know Laura is a journalist?”

“Your dad was so proud that his little girl’s girlfriend works for the Times, daddy dropped her name and I put two and two together.” She shrugs. “Your girlfriend is quite the little writer though, she is very good at what she does, seeing as she has a cover story almost twice a week. I mean if that isn’t something to be proud of I don’t know what is.”

“Yeah well, I’ll see what she says, but don’t count on me being there with or without Laura. Now please leave.”

“Bye Carmilla, I’ll see you around.” Ell says before finally leaving, I look over my shoulder to see her walk out of the store and onto the street.

“Jesus Christ.” I whisper to myself, running my fingers through my hair and getting back to work, only to be startled by someone placing their hands over my eyes a few minutes later.

“Guess who.” Laura whispers in my ear before kissing my on my cheek.

“What are you doing here?” I ask with a smile, turning around to hug her.

“I was let off early because I finished my article early and didn’t need to stay any longer.

So I figured, let me come see my hardworking girlfriend before her shift was over to see if she wanted to go out to dinner with her equally hardworking girlfriend.” Laura explains, taking my hands in hers and swinging them back and forth.

“As amazing as that sounds, you said you would finish revising the one chapter of that book I’m writing.”

“Seeing as that deal was made under very unfair circumstances.”

“But you wouldn’t agree to it if I didn’t ask you that way.” I say, leaning in to kiss her. “You love me enough to revise it either way though.”

“That’s true, but at the same time I want to go out to eat, I have news anyway.” Laura says. “So can we please go somewhere quick and easy, or bring something home? I don’t want to cook.”

“Fine, why don’t we order in from that place me like on seventh, go home enjoy each other’s company as always and then you can revise the chapter.”

“Deal. Seeing as you still have some time here, I’ll go order and bring it home. I’ll meet you back there.”

“Sounds like a plan Cupcake.”

“I love you, be careful getting home.”

“I love you too Buttercup, and you be careful as well.” I say, watching her walk out of the store.

 

-Laura POV-

“Honey I’m home!” Carmilla calls out from the living room; I poke my head out of the kitchen giving her a confused look.

“Since when is that something you’d consider saying?”

“Since Laf decided to move out and find an apartment with Perry.”

“You’re such a dork.” I tease, leaning in to kiss her. “Seeing as you had such a rough day at the office, I thought I would order from your favorite Chinese food place.”

“Yeah, that is annoying, this isn’t a corny movie from the fifties. Anyway, you got my favorite?” Carmilla asks, kissing me on the cheek and walking into the kitchen, washing her hands before emptying the bag on the stove.

“No I got that dish you hate so much, you know the extra spicy beef thing.”

“You Miss Hollis are going to get yourself in trouble with that sarcastic mouth of yours.”

“Anyway, we need to talk about something.”

“Okay shoot.” Carmilla says, filling up a plate of food before walking over to the fridge, grabbing a beer, and walking over to the table. I walk over to fix myself a plate quickly, grabbing some water and sitting down in front of Carmilla.

“There’s this benefit dinner thing taking place this weekend and I was picked to cover it seeing as it’s, quote, someone else’s turn to have a cover story. So anyway, I’m allowed to bring someone with me and of course you’re the only person I would bring, so I want to know if you can come and will come with me. I mean free food and an open bar is always a plus with dragging you to something like that, plus some of my coworkers have been dying to meet you, especially Elsie, she really wants to meet you, and JP he wants to know who the mysterious girlfriend of mine is.” I explain, looking up to see Carmilla staring at me with a blank expression.

“I think I could be with you forever, and never wrap my mind around the fact that you can say a million words a minute without taking a single breath.” Carmilla says with a smile. “But, yes I will go with you to your dinner thing, you dork.”

“Thank you.” I say with a smile, getting up to kiss her on the cheek quick before beginning to eat dinner.

“Revise the chapter or I’m not going.” She says pointing her fork at me.

“Okay, okay. Let me eat, pour me a drink or something and then I’ll do it.”

“Or something? Like what cocoa and cookies?”

“What else would I be referring to? Apples and oranges?”

“I’m dating a woman with the dietary habits of a child.” She says with a laugh.

“You love me, and my cookie cabinet.”

“I do.”

“You better.” 

* * *

“Cupcake, your phone keeps ringing.” Carmilla mumbles in my ear half asleep. I open my eyes a bit and reach over to pick up my phone.

“Hello?” I mumble taking the phone away from my ear to see it was nearly three in the morning.

_“Laura?”_

“Daddy, what’s wrong?” I ask, sitting up a bit.

 _“Laura, your mother, something happened.”_ He begins quietly, causing me to shoot upright in bed.

“Daddy what’s going on?” I ask, feeling Carmilla stir beside me.

 _“When is the soonest you can get home Laura?”_ He asks, a solemn sound to his tone.

“I don’t know, Carmilla can probably set something up for today…” I trail off, looking over at her. “Dad, what’s going on, why won’t you tell me anything?” I ask, feeling the tears build up on my eyes.

 _“Sweetie, your mother…”_ He trails off, taking a deep shaky breath. _“She was in an accident, she… honey, you_ need _to come home.”_

“Is she okay?” I ask, feeling a lump form on my throat.

_“Laura – ”_

“Is she okay?”

 _“You want the truth I’m assuming, you want me to tell you that she isn’t okay so that way you can worry all the way home, you want me to tell she died don’t you?!”_ He spits, more venom in his voice than he intended.

“Daddy…” I say quietly, not being able to form any other words.

_“Laura, I’m sorry. Please come home.”_

“Okay.” I say, hanging up the phone and dropping it onto the bed.

“What happened?” Carmilla asks, wrapping her arms around me when I fall into her arms, burying my face into her neck. “Laura.” She whispers, kissing the top of my head and holding me tight.

“We need to go to Silas.” I mumble into her neck.

“Okay.” She says quietly, holding me against her. “I’ll make arrangements to get there today if we can, do you want me to call Laf and Perry?”

“Yes, I don’t want to talk to anyone, tell them they can come if they want to. It doesn’t matter if they do or not.” I say, letting go of Carmilla and turning on my side, pulling the quilt over my head.

“Everything will be okay cupcake, I’ll make sure of it.” Carmilla says, kissing me on the side of my head before getting out of bed and leaving the room. I just stayed in bed for the remainder of the early morning and into the afternoon, not going back to sleep, the only time I decided to move, was when I heard Carmilla come back into the room and lied down beside me. I turned to face her; she reached up and gently brushed my hair from my face. “Are you going to be okay?”

“I don’t know.” I say quietly, burying my face into her chest.

“I called your boss, Vordenberg, he said to take as much time as you need. I emailed Elsie; she said she’s going to extend my deadline on this next chapter. Laf and Perry are going to come with us to Silas, but they can only stay a few days, so after everything is said and done they’re coming home and will take care of Søren, until then Kirsch and Danny are going to take care of him.” She says, running her fingers through my hair, making me calmer by the minute.

“I love you.”

“I love you too, we leave tonight around seven, I called your dad to let him know. Laf and Perry are just going to meet us at the airport, I started packing some stuff for you, we should leave here around five-thirty.”

“You’re so good to me.”

“I-I have something for you, I mean, seeing as the circumstance is a little sad and all, it doesn’t make the day any different for us, and I know you just lost someone very important to you, but you’re very important to me and well…” Carmilla stammers, reaching over to her bedside table, opening the drawer to reveal a small box. My eyes must have popped out of my head, because Carmilla’s expression looked panicked. “Oh, whoa, I’m not proposing or anything like that, just open it.” She says, handing me the box. I take it from her hands and flip open the top to reveal a small gold heart on a chain, with _L+C_ engraved in swirly script on the face of the heart and _12/24/13_ , our anniversary date on the back of it. “Happy Anniversary Candy Cane.” She says, leaning in to kiss me.

“Oh Carm, I love it, I love you. I almost forgot that today was our six month, but I did get you something too.” I say, getting out of bed and walking into, what would still be considered as my room. Grabbing her gift from my bedside table cabinet and walking back into her room. “For you.” I say with a small smile, watching her face light up as she rips away the paper, revealing a very old copy of Henry David Thoreau’s _Walden_. “My mother and I realized that it was the only book that was missing from your shelf, seeing as you’re a philosophy major and it seems like one of those books required on a philosophy major’s shelf, anyway, one day she was at a thrift store looking at some books, and she found this one. When she realized it was a first edition, and the near mint condition it was in, she couldn’t leave it there. Then when she opened the book too look through it.” I explain, taking the book from Carmilla’s hands, opening to the title page, pointing to the top of the page. “When she saw that it was actually _your_ book, she knew she couldn’t leave it there.” I say, looking up to see Carmilla staring at the book like she just struck oil, or found all the gold in the world. She looked up at me and lunged forward, kissing me like it was her only reason for living.

“When I moved out of my parents’ house, I left a lot of things behind, books being the main thing. Lilita being the bitch that she is never saved the books. When they were moving out she was doing all the moving, seeing as my dad worked a lot, and she just got rid of them. It wasn’t a lot of books, maybe like five or ten, but when I was unpacking and realized I left this book, of all books, there and I never made it back in time to get it. I never bothered replacing it or anything. But now I have it back and it’s just amazing. I read this book when I was fifteen, my dad got it for me, it’s what made me fall in love with the thought provoking nature of philosophy.” She says, flipping through the book, I looked at it and noticed there were different markings in the book, certain things were circled or highlighted, other things underlined, pages were turned at the corners to mark them. It was very Carmilla in the sense that she gave the book love and care. I look up to see that Carmilla was beginning to cry, something she never did. She has never been one to show emotion, whether it is in public or private, she never cried at anything, even the saddest movies where the dog dies, she never would shed a tear.

“Did I just make _the_ Carmilla Karnstein cry?”

“Shut up.” She says, laughing a bit as I reach over and brush the tears from her eyes. “I love you. Thank you, and to your mom, I wish I would have been able to thank her personally.”

“Oh, Carm.” I coo, wrapping her in my arms as she continues to cry. “You said it yourself, everything will be okay.” I say, fighting the urge to cry again.

“I know cupcake. Come on, we should shower and get ready to leave.” She says, leaning in to kiss me again. “And thank you so much, for being the best thing to happen to my life in a _very_ long time.”

“And you are the best thing to happen to my life in a very long time too, and I love you just as much.” I say, kissing her on the cheek before getting out of bed and walking to the bathroom.

 

-Carmilla POV-

I look down at the book again once Laura leaves the room, my fingers tracing over my name in the book, written in the sloppy chicken scratch of my youth, a font that was the highlight of my teenage years, ever annotated line on the pages of Walden were accentuated by the bright yellows and blues of vibrant highlighters. The physical book was of course, as Laura said, in mint condition. The content of the book, on the other hand, was that of my own.

“Carm!” Laura calls out, breaking me from my thoughts.

“Yes Buttercup?” I call back, getting out of bed and walking out of my room towards the bathroom, peaking my head in to see the room was filled with steam. “Holy hell the shower hot enough for you?” I ask, waving my hand in front of me to circulate the steam.

“Maybe.” Laura says, peaking her head out from behind the curtain. “Did you pack my – ”

“Favorite pair of sweats seeing as we’re going to be on a plane for a while and you want to be comfortable? No I did not. I did however, lay them out on your bed with you Silas hoodie that you like so much.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too. Sometimes it even amazes me.”

“What amazes you?”

“That I am able to feel this much love for you, seeing as it isn’t really my thing, but with you everything is even better than I can imagine.”

“So deep down, underneath all that brood, sarcasm, and sass that everyone sees on a daily basis, there is a mushy, loving, caring Carmilla.” Laura chimes, the evidence of a smile in her voice. “Well, I’d like to receive a Nobel Prize for bringing out that side in you.”

“Yeah, yeah. Get done soon, we do have somewhere to be.” I say, walking out of the bathroom.

* * *

“I can’t do it Carm.” Laura cries into my shoulder as we stand outside of the room where her mother was in the funeral home.

“You don’t have to go in there, Baby.”

“But my dad is in there, I should be in there with him.”

“You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do.” I say, kissing the top of her head. “Come on, let’s at least go sit.” I say, taking her hand in mine and leading her to a couch at the far end of the lobby close to the door. We sit down on the small couch and Laura lays her head on my shoulder as I wrap my arm around her.

“Laura, Laura!” Mikey shouts, rushing over towards us. “I’m sorry your mommy is in heaven.” He says, giving Laura a hug. “My mommy says she’s always going to be around though, even if we can’t see her, she loves all of us and will always be around.” He says with a smile.

“Thank you Mikey.” She says quietly, wrapping the little boy into a tight hug.

“I love you Laura.” He mumbles against her shoulder.

“I love you too.” She says kissing him on the cheek and letting him go play with the other kids. Laura looks over at me, smiling slightly.

“Everything is going to be okay.” I say, resting my forehead against hers. “I promise.” I whisper, leaning in to kiss her softly.


	9. Chapter 9

-Laura POV-

“Hey.” Carmilla says as she walks into the apartment, closing the door and tossing her keys on the table next to the door. She walks over to me, sitting down beside me and kissing me. “How are you?”

“I’m good.” I say quietly, turning my attention back to the TV. “How was your day?”

“It was good. I got you something.” She says as she starts reaching into her bag and pulling out something that was wrapped in bright yellow wrapping paper. I take it from her hands, and look up at her to see her smiling. I pull back the paper to reveal a picture frame with a picture of Carmilla, my parents and myself, standing in from of the tree at Rockefeller Plaza, seeing as it was something my parents always wanted to do. Laf took the picture, and it was of Carmilla kissing me on my cheek, and my dad kissing my mom on hers, both my mom and I with big grins on our faces.

“I forgot that Laf took this picture.” I say, looking down at the picture and looking back up at Carmilla. “Thank you.”

“Anything for you cupcake.” She whispers against my lips, kissing me again before getting up and walking towards our room.

“Hey Carm?”

“Yes?”

“I want to ask you something.”

“Ask away.”

“I know this may be odd, but I as wondering if you’d be up for the idea of going on a vacation.”

“Vacation to where sweetheart?”

“Anywhere.” I say, turning to put my legs on her lap when she sat down on the couch next to me. “I just want to lay on a beach somewhere with you, nothing to worry about, or think about. No articles to write or papers to grade, just you and me.” I say, resting my head on the back of the couch as I look at her, watching as she mirrors my movement.

“Okay. We can go away for Christmas, seeing as I really can’t take the time off before hand, and you need to give notice and everything. We’ll go away for our one-year, we’ll even treat you dad and that new girlfriend of his to a trip. Maybe it’ll be good for both of you.” She says, rubbing my legs. It has been about four months since my mom died; everything was starting to just be what it was. The major mourning period was over for both my father and myself, and now my dad was starting to see people again, and one woman in particular was Sadie. She was in a similar position as my dad; only she lost her husband to cancer around the same time my mom passed. He was starting to get back to being himself again, which I approved of no matter what.

“That would be nice, I think he would like that very much, and Sadie would too.”

“So where is it you would like to go?”

“Hawaii.” I say quietly.

“Hawaii? I’ve never been there and I’ve always wanted to go, I couldn’t think of a better place to go with you to celebrate one year of us being together.” Carmilla says, leaning forward to kiss me. “I love you.”

“Well thank goodness for that, I was starting to think you didn’t anymore.”

“You are unbelievable.”

“Are you going to call my dad and tell him?”

“Yeah, I’ll give him a call in a little bit.” She says with a smile. “Now the important question of the night, it’s Friday so, pizza or Chinese?”

“You’re such a dork, I want cookies.”

“Pizza it is then.”

 

-Carmilla POV-

After dinner, Laura decided to go to bed early seeing as she had an early start on Fridays she was always the first to go to bed, giving me the opportunity to call Sherman. _“Hey Carmilla, is everything okay?”_ He asks, something that had become a habit since losing Jane, he never knew what to expect when I would call him from my phone rather than Laura calling from hers and vice versa.

“Everything is great Sherman, how about you?” I ask, walking over and turning on the TV, making sure the volume was low so it wouldn’t bother Laura.

 _“Everything is good, I just got back from dinner with Sadie.”_ He says, happiness evident in his voice.

“That’s good, I’m happy you found someone to make you happy again.”

_“She isn’t Jane, but I’m the kind of guy that needs lovin’, and seeing as my little girl is so for away from home, Sadie does help.”_

“Hey, Laura approves, I approve, and the family approves. You’re a big boy Sherman, you can do whatever feels right for yourself.” I say lightheartedly.

_“Exactly, so to what do I owe the pleasure to hear from you?”_

“Well Laura and I have decided that we want to go away for Christmas, and thought it would be a good idea to see if you and Sadie would like to go away with us?” I explain, absentmindedly flipping through the channels on TV.

_“I think Sadie and I would like that very much, where did you plan on going?”_

“Laura chose Hawaii.”

_“Wow, yeah, let me just run it by Sadie and get back to you.”_

“Yeah, no real rush, but I would like to start booking things by next Friday or so. I – I have another thing I want to talk to you about though.” I say, trying to be calm.

“ _You know that I would let you do that even if you didn’t ask me.”_

“You don’t even know what – ”

_“Carmilla, my daughter is crazy about you. There are times where she texts me just to tell me how happy you make her, and how much she can’t stand it when she is at work for too long, or if you have to teach a night class and you aren’t there to just be in the apartment with her. I never thought she would find that person that makes her feel the way that Jane made me feel. You are the only person I could see my daughter being with, and I would love for you to make her the happiest girl in the world every day for as long as you live.”_

“I want you to know that I will do everything in my power to keep your daughter happy, I will make both you and your wife proud. I will strive to achieve nothing less that absolute happiness, love, and affection for Laura, she will never have to be afraid, or sad, or anything like that. You’re daughter is in good hands Sherman.” I say, feeling my eyes fill up with tears of joy.

_“I know I can hold you to that Carmilla. So I’m guessing you plan on the big show to be in Hawaii?”_

“I feel like that’s expected, I think I’m going to wait until after that, I’ll figure that all out when I feel it’s ready. I just wanted to know that you gave me your blessing before I even considered on what to get her.”

 _“Just remember that Laura likes simple, she doesn’t need to be indulged, or at least she doesn’t expect to be, but you can indulge her all you want to.”_ Sherman says with a small laugh.

“She will be treated the way she deserves to be, from now until the say I take my last breath.”

 _“Well, I guess this means you truly are part of the family now, Carmilla.”_ He says happily. _“I’m gonna let you go, you have some things to figure out and I’m going to call Sadie and see what she thinks about the trip and I’ll get back to either you or Laura.”_

“No problem, Sherman, and thank you again. I would let you down.” I say, hanging up the phone and setting it on the couch.

“Carm?”

“Yeah Cupcake, what’s wrong?” I ask, getting up from the couch and walking over to her.

“Come to bed with me.” She says, wrapping her arms around me and resting her head on my chest. “You know I don’t like sleeping without you.”

“I know Creampuff. I just have to make one more phone call, then I’ll come to bed.”

“Who do you have to call?” She asks through a yawn.

“I have to call Laf about something, I called your dad about the trip, he’s running it by Sadie and getting back to me. Let me just give Laf a quick call and come to bed.”

“Okay Carm.” Laura says with a smile, giving me a quick kiss before turning on her heels and going back to my bed. As soon as she closes the door over I walk back to the couch and pick up my phone.

 _“So you’re going to pop the question?”_ Laf says as soon as they answer their phone.

“What the fuck?” I say, sitting on the edge of the couch.

_“Papa Hollis is quick to spread news like that, his only daughter’s girlfriend calls and asks for his blessing, and the first person he calls is me to make sure I help you make the moment perfect. So what’s your game plan?”_

“I don’t know what to do. I want it to be special, of course, but at the same time I want to really surprise her.” I say quietly.

 _“Okay I have an idea.”_  

* * *

I lean in and start to place small kisses all over Laura’s face, watching her smile as she began to wake up. “Good morning to you too.” She mumbles, her voice thick with sleep.

“And a very good morning it is.” I whisper in her ear before kissing her neck.

“You’re up to something.” She says with a smile, cocking her eyebrow in curiosity.

“How do you figure?”

“Well, you woke me up by kissing me and you have the evil gleam in your eye.” She says, placing her hands on the back of my neck.

“Evil gleam?”

“Yeah, you get this look in your eye when you are up to something. Especially when you want to surprise me.”

“Well I guess I need to practice a better poker face.” I say, getting out of bed, but being pulled back down. “Laura I have things to do.” I say through a laugh as she pushes me onto my back and straddles me.

“Things that are more important than me?” She asks with a wicked grin as she begins to trail kissed down my neck and across my chest.

“Nothing is more important than you, you know that Cupcake.” I groan as she begins to scrape her nails up and down my sides.

“Well then what do you have to go run off and do?” She asks, as she plays with the hem of my shirt before she pulls it up and over my head.

“It’s something for work.” I say, trying to not get lost in Laura.

“That’s a lie, you don’t have to go in on Saturdays.” She says as she grabs at my breast.

“It’s a department meeting, they called it last minute.” I say, failing to not get lost in Laura. “I’ll make you a deal.” I say as she continues to kiss me all over. “You let me go to this meeting, which shouldn’t be too long, and when I get home, you can have your wicked way with me.”

“My wicked way with you?”

“Your wicked, wicked way.” I whisper, leaning in to kiss her passionately before she gets off of me and lets me get done. As I run in to take a quick shower, Laura disappears into the kitchen. Once I’m done and come around the corner I look up to see Laura standing by the door with a thermos in one hand and my bag in the other, and a small smirk on her face. “You are such a dork.”

“I’m your dork.”

“That is true.”

“I’ll be home before you know it.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.” I say, turning to blow her a kiss and watching her go back into the apartment.

“Jesus Christ, it took you long enough.” Laf says as I walk into the lobby.

“Yeah well, when your hot girlfriend decides she wants to play, you don’t really say no, but you talk yourself around it.”

“Ew, I didn’t need to hear that at all. What does she think you’re doing?” They ask as we walk out of the building.

“She thinks I am going to a last minute meeting.”

“Ah, so where are we going?” Laf asks as they begin to follow me down the block.

“We are going to see my dad at work.” I say, stepping into the cross walk.

“Your dad? Why?”

“I have to ask him something.”

“What about Ell?”

“What about her?”

“You haven’t seen her in years.” They say, seeming concerned and then confused when I started laughing.

“I saw her a few months ago, I know she tried to get Laura to go out with her. We’re fine, there is nothing to worry about.” I say, still trying to hold back laughter.

“Oh.”

“Don’t worry Frankenstein. I’m a big girl and can take care of myself.” I say, walking into my father’s building. After the long elevator ride to nearly the top floor and being interrogated by nearly every person I came in contact with I was finally sitting outside of my father’s office, waiting for him to get done with a client and watching as Laf nearly pissed in their pants when Ell walked over to us.

“Well hello.” Ell says with a smirk, holding her hands behind her back.

“Hey Ell.” I say, not looking up from my phone as I texted Laura.

“What brings you here?” She asks, trying to read my messages.

“Well.” I start, locking my phone and putting it in my pocket. “You see, my dad, he works just in there and the reason why I would need to see my father at his place of work is not really any of your business.”

“Oh okay. I mean the last time you visited your father at work was to tell him…. No?” She gasps, putting her own pieces of assumption together. “You’re going to propose to the little one?” She asks as her eyebrows shot up to her hairline.

“That is something that is none of your business.” I say, trying to not be embarrassed by what she just said, but knowing that the redness in my cheeks gave everything away.

“You’re such a bad liar.”

“Carmilla, how are you.” My dad says happily when he opens the door to his office. “Ell, get going before you regret talking to Carmilla.” He adds as he nods his head in the direction she should go in.

“See you around Carmilla.”

“Bye.” I say dryly as I get up and walk into my dad’s office, leaving Laf to stay in the hallway.

“To what do I owe this pleasure, seeing as the last time I saw you for three months ago for my birthday.” He says, walking around his desk to sit in his big leather chair, leaning back slightly.

“I came to talk to you about something, and I need some extra cash.”

“The last time you opened with that line, you were proposing to Ell.” He states with a small smile. “So if this conversation is going in that direction, the answer is no.” He says as he begins to type at his keyboard.

“But Dad.” I say, sitting at the edge of the seat. “This time will be different, I just need a little extra cash to make it special.”

“No, you have a good job and you wrote a bestselling book. You don’t need my money to help pay for an engagement ring.” He says keeping his attention directed to the screen. “Especially after last time, Ell made a fool out of us both.”

“I know that, but Laura, she’s different dad. She is the best thing to happen to me and I just want to give her the best.”

“You can make it just as special with your own money. The last time I did that you were still in college and needed the money to give Ell the best. You’re an adult Carmilla, you want to make your girlfriend happy, you have to take the bull by the horns and do it yourself. I’m not going to be around to help you all the time, that’s why I taught you to work hard for what you want. You want to marry Laura that badly; you make ends meet in order to do it. You indulge her enough on a regular basis, buying her different things and taking her out to dinners, she knows you love her enough to make the best out of everything. Figure it out on your own Carmilla; Laura doesn’t expect things like Ell did. She’s simple, she doesn’t expect the grand gestures, but at the same time she is more appreciative than Ell is.”

“Okay fine, then give me Mom’s ring.” I say, crossing my arms over my chest.

“You want Lilita’s engagement ring?” He asks in confusion.

“No, god no! I want _my_ mother’s engagement ring.” I state, watching his eyes widen.

“That is something I can help you with then.” He says, getting out of his chair and walking over to the far corner of the bookcase behind him. He reaches to the top shelf and pulls down a book and places it on his desk, he opens it to reveal that is was in fact one of those boxes disguised to look like a book. He then pulls out a small blue velvet box, opening it with a smile before turning it to show me. “I had a feeling that one day, a boy would come to me, asking for my blessing and I would suggest giving him this ring to propose with. Then when you came out, that obviously changed the perspective on things, I knew that one day you would find the right lady you’d want to spend the rest of your life with and I would suggest you propose with this ring.” He says, handing the box to me.

“Why didn’t you give it to me with Ell then?” I ask, looking at the diamond ring sparkle in the light.

“Because of father’s intuition. I had a feeling that Ell was just a college sweetheart that you may end up not being with forever, and Ell always rubbed me the wrong way, so I had a feeling it wasn’t going to last. That’s also why I convinced you to buy a cheaper ring last time. Besides, Ell doesn’t deserve to have a family heirloom like that. This ring was my great-grandmother’s, then my grandmother, and my mother, before then she gave it to me when I met your mother, knowing that I was going to spend forever with her.” He says quietly. “So I know that Granma Karnstein would be very pleased to know that you have found the person you want to spend forever with.” He adds as he closes the box and putting it back on the shelf. “So how are you going to do it?” He asks, sitting on the edge of his desk in front of me.

“I have no idea.” I say, closing the ring box and sticking it in my bag.

“Well where did you first take when you got here?”

“Ice skating at to see the tree. But I don’t want it to be clichéd, like stopping in the middle of ice skating is expected.”

“Okay so what other options do you have?”

“I don’t know, we were planning a trip at Christmas, I don’t want to do that either though. I don’t want to propose in Hawaii.”

“You’re going to Hawaii for Christmas?” He asks, seeming to only hear that part.

“Yeah, it’s her first Christmas without her mother and she wanted to go away, she wants to go there so we’re going.”

“I see, so you’re not going to be here for Christmas, leaving me to spend time with you’re sister that hates me like you hate Lilita, and my son who could care less about family functions.”

“I’m sorry Dad, I just want her to have a good Christmas.”

“So the propose to her on the top of a volcano, or something like that.”

“I don’t know Dad. This is so stressful.” I say, running my fingers through my hair.

“Hey, that’s marriage Kid, you want to spend the rest of your life with someone, there are going to be days that are easy, and days that are stressful.” He says, walking around to sit in his chair. “And wait until that talk about kids comes into play, all bets are off in that case.” He adds. “Now I have to go back to work, I love you and let me know what happens, hopefully I’ll be able to see you before you go away.”

“Okay Dad, I love you too, and thank you for the ring.” I say, getting up and walking out of his office, closing the door behind me and looking down to see Laf sleeping. “Hey, Brainiac, get up.”

“Took you long enough.” They say through a yawn. “So what happened?”

“He didn’t give me money, but he gave me my mother’s engagement ring to give to Laura.”

“Well, look who just got extra brownie points.”

“With everything I do for her, I don’t need extra brownie points, I feel like I could bring this to her now and she’d say yes.”

“So then why don’t you?”

“I don’t know.” I say, looking down at my feet. “Isn’t it too soon?”

“Only one way to find out.”

 

-Laura POV-

I sit on the couch watching Harry Potter with Søren and sipping cocoa when Carmilla finally comes through the door. “Yay you’re home.” I say, jumping up from the couch and rushing over to Carmilla. “And you have cookies!” I gasp, snatching the bag out of her hand and kissing her on the cheek.

“And as always, cookies take first rank over me, and yet I never learn my lesson.” Carmilla says, dramatically throwing herself on the couch.

“You will never be second to cookies, you know that.” I say, putting the bag on the coffee table and leaning over to kiss Carmilla on the cheek. “Something’s wrong, what happened at your meeting?”

“Meeting went well, just general department things that needed to be gone over and met, nothing out of the ordinary, I have to make sure I either add another paper or test to the syllabus next semester.”

“That’s not what’s bothering you.” I chime. “Come on Carm, we talk, we don’t keep secrets.”

“It’s not a secret Laura, really. Everything is fine.” She says, taking my face in her hands. “I promise.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this chapter... yeah. Things kinda just happened, and I'm happy they did. Things are a bit fluffier than I anticipated starting out, but it is Carmilla, it can't be all cookies and cocoa....


	10. Chapter 10

-Carmilla POV-

“I want to move here. Screw New York; screw the winter and the snow. I would rather live with the threat of a volcano blowing up, or a hurricane.” Laura says, as she lies on a beach towel next to me.

“You are unbelievable.” I say, turning to lie on my side, pushing my sunglasses to the top of my head. “I love the city and could say that I miss it. But coming here to visit isn’t bad.” I say, watching Laura mirror my position.

“So, what’s on the agenda for today, I mean not like laying out on our own private beach isn’t exciting, but I think we should do something fun.”

“Let’s see, we can say on this beautiful beach, all alone and quiet. We can go back to our room and play. We can go climb a volcano like your dad is doing….”

“Why do you always refer to sex as ‘playing’?” She asks with a small laugh.

“Because it’s easier to get away with saying in public? I don’t know.”

“You say it because you’re a dork.” She says, straddling me. “How about we go climb a volcano until we get bored and then go back to the room to _play_.” She teases, leaning in to kiss me. “So let’s head back and head back out.”

“Whatever you say Cutie.” I say leaning in to kiss her one last time before gathering our things and head back to the hotel. After we get back to our room and reluctantly get ourselves together to go hiking, we are at the base of the volcano. “Ready?” I ask, taking Laura’s hand in mine.

“Lead the way.” She says, kissing me on the cheek. After, what seemed like forever but was actually about forty-five minutes, of nonstop walking, Laura and I finally decided to take a seat on the edge of the trail over looking the ocean and part of the island. “It’s beautiful up here.” Laura says, resting her head on my shoulder as I reached into my backpack to get a bottle of water.

“That it is Cupcake, that it is.” I say, wrapping my arm around her and kissing her temple.

“I love you.” She says quietly, turning to kiss me.

“I love you too.” I whisper against her lips. “I love you so much Laura, you have no idea.” I say, kissing her again. “I have something for you.” I say with a smile, reaching into my bag.

“No, Carm Christmas is just a couple of days away, I don’t want any gifts now, it’ll take away from the holiday.”

“Oh shut up, you know just as well as I do that you love when I give you presents.” I say, making a show of digging around in my bag. “Where the fuck is it?”

“What are you looking for?”

“If I told you it wouldn’t be a surprise now would it. Ah ha! Here it is.” I say, pulling the small box out from the depths of the bag, checking to make sure the wrapping paper wasn’t ripped or anything like that. “For you.”

“Gee whiz, I hope it isn’t yet another piece of jewelry that conveniently comes in a box about this size.” She says sarcastically, glaring at me playfully. She begins to unwrap the paper and pops open the box, a small gasp escaping her mouth. “Are you serious?”

“Extremely serious.” I say, taking the box from her. “When I met you, Laura, something just clicked, call it soul-mates or whatever you want to, I just knew that there was no way in hell I wasn’t going to not have you. I want you to be mine forever, and I want to spend every waking moment with you. And I promise that the cookie cabinet will be forever stocked.” I add with a laugh. “So, Laura Eileen Hollis, will you marry me?” She throws her arms around me and kisses me passionately.

“Yes.” She whispers against my lips before kissing me again. “Of course.” She says quietly as I slip the ring onto her finger, kissing me again before looking at the ring.

“Fun fact that was passed down from my great-great-grandmother on my dad’s side. He used it to propose to my mom. But he also told me that his great-grandmother, grandmother, and mother all had very long marriages, so the ring is kinda lucky, I mean despite what happened with my mom.”

“For a ring so old, it still is quite beautiful and extravagant.” Laura says, not being able to look away from it.

“I come from a very well off family Laura. Inheritance and trust funds go a long way back.”

“I love you.” Laura says, leaning over to kiss me again.

“I love you too.”

“Is the promise of always having cookies around a real one or just for effect?”

“And my fiancée is a seven-year-old sugar junkie.” I tease. “It’s a promise.” I add, standing up and pulling her with me.

“I think we should go celebrate with my dad.” Laura says, taking my hand in hers and leading the way back down the trail.

“I think that’s a good idea.” I say, kissing the side of her head.

 

-Laura POV-

“Hi Daddy.” I say, walking over to the table where he sat with Sadie, kissing him on the cheek. “Hi Sadie.” I add, giving her a hug. I sat down as Carmilla followed my lead, saying hello to my dad and his girlfriend before sitting down next to me but across from my dad, seeing as I was across from Sadie. “Daddy, we have something to tell you.” I say, taking Carmilla’s hand in mine.

“Okay Pumpkin.” He says, sitting up straighter.

“Carmilla and I are getting married!” I say excitedly, holding up my left hand to show off the ring.

“That’s wonderful Honey, congratulations.” He says, getting up to give Carmilla and I a hug again.

“Congratulations to you both.” Sadie says with a smile.

“Thank you Sadie.” Carmilla says with a smile, before looking over at me and giving me a kiss.

“So when’s the big day?” My dad says excitedly.

“Daddy, we just got engaged like an hour ago.” I say, rolling my eyes at him.

“Oh come on, Laura has been planning her wedding since she was four years old.”

“Well Cal, I think we’re going to wait until we get home to start figuring out the arrangements.” Carmilla says, squeezing my hand a bit. “And yes, you will be informed every step of the way.”

“Don’t worry daddy, you will know every last detail and then some.” I say, leaning over to kiss him on the cheek.

“That’s all I ask.” He says putting his hands up in surrender.

* * *

“So.” Carmilla says as we walk back into our hotel room.

“So?” I ask, sitting down at the edge of the bed, placing my hands behind me and leaning back, watching Carmilla walk around the room.

“What do you want to do?” She asks, walking over to me and standing between my legs, placing her hands on my cheeks and lifting my head to look at her.

“I think I may have an idea.” I chime, placing my hands on her hips, pulling her on top of me as I lie back on the bed, guiding her as she starts to grind against me. I feel her reach for the buttons of my shirt, slowly undoing each one before pushing the fabric off of my shoulders before she starts scratching down my abdomen, causing my breath to hitch a bit.

“You like that?”

“What do you think?” I whisper, chasing after her lips as she begins to pull away with her signature Carmilla smirk. “Are you really going to tease me now?”

“Maybe.” She says with a devious grin as she pulls off her own shirt before leaning down to kiss me again. I run my hands over her back, reaching up for the clasp of her bra, undoing it with ease and allowing the dainty lace fabric to fall from her shoulders before Carmilla takes it and tosses it behind her. I flip her over in one swift motion, giggling at the confused and turned on look on Carmilla’s eye as I look down at her and smile, brushing back the messy brunette locks that have fallen in front of her face.

“I don’t like being on the bottom.” I say with a shrug and a smirk.

“I’m not complaining cupcake, you know that.” Carmilla says quietly, placing her hands on the back of my neck and pulling me towards her to kiss me.

“You like when I’m in top.” I tease, leaning down to kiss her passionately, deepening the kiss at unspoken request. I feel her reach up to unclasp my bra, guiding the straps down my shoulders and pulling it off of me. Everything we do is done slowly, from every touch to every kiss, pure bliss, was what we were both experiencing. Carmilla then whines, breaking the silence among us as I begin my assault on her neck, paying close attention to a small area just under her ear that made her moan louder, and run her nails across my back. I continue my descent, kissing down her chest, between her breasts, and across her abdomen as I undo the button of her jeans pulling her jeans and boy shorts off at once; I move them ever so slowly down her long, smooth legs before taking them and throwing them over my shoulder. I take a moment to look at her body, taking in the perfection that is.

“You always render me speechless.” I say quietly, leaning in to kiss her again.

“The miracle of me being naked, I know.” She teases, placing her hands in the back of my neck to pull me in for another long and passionate kiss.

“Ha ha, very funny.” I say quickly before pushing two fingers inside of her, taking her by surprise. With a smile I watch carefully as I slowly move my fingers in and out of her. She sighs with each thrust.

“Fuck Cupcake, you’re torturing me. Go faster.” Carmilla whines. I do as she commands and pick up the pace, while also paying close attention to playing with her clit, escalating the pants and moans coming from her. I continue to pick up the pace until my arm begins to burn. Before I know it, moans become louder while she comes. I bring her down from her high slowly before kissing back up her body and lying down besides her, burying my face in the crook of her back as she wraps her arm around my shoulder. “I love you.” She says, kissing my forehead.

“I love you too.”

“You better.” She says with a laugh, rolling on top of me.

“I always will.” I say, putting my hands in the back of her neck and pulling her down to kiss me.

 

-Carmilla POV-

“What are you doing?” I whisper quietly, waking up to the sound of Laura shuffling around before crawling up the bed to straddle me as she kissed me.

“Happy Anniversary.” She whispers against my lips before kissing me again.

“Oh, that’s today? I didn’t know.” I tease, receiving a playful glare from Laura. “You know I’m kidding. Happy anniversary.” I say, pulling out a wrapped package from under the pillow.

“What’s this?” She asks, sitting back on my thighs a bit.

“Anniversary, slash, Christmas present.”

“You really spoil me.” She says, leaning in to kiss me before pulling away with a smile.

“Why wouldn’t I spoil my fiancée?”

“I don’t know.”

“Well do you not like getting spoiled?”

“I don’t know Carm, it’s just that you always come home from work with something, or surprise me with elaborate nights out. I just feel like, no, I know I can’t give you those same things back on the same basis as you. I just feel bad.” She says, playing with the gift in her hands. “I mean, this trip, I assumed this was my Christmas and anniversary present, then you proposed, and that was amazing. I just didn’t expect more, and I don’t have anything for you really, and I just feel bad.” She adds, putting her gift on the bed and getting up from my lap.

“I don’t do it to make you feel bad.” I say quietly, watching her pace back and forth at the foot of the bed. “I do it because I love you.”

“That sounds like a buying for affection type thing.” Laura says. “You buy me everything I want, or you think I want. You take me on elaborate dinners and this vacation. Of course I wanted to come here, but I thought it would be a joint expense, then you paid for my dad too. I don’t understand why you do all of that Carm.”

“You’re twisting my intentions around.” I say, trying to control my anger that seemed to be bubbling out of nowhere.

“Then why do you do it?” Laura asks, standing at the opposite corner of the room with her arms crossed over her chest.

“Because I love you.”

“Well I love you too, and I feel like that’s enough and doesn’t call for overly spontaneous gift giving.” Laura says, storming past me and locking herself in the bathroom.

“I never wanted to make you feel bad!”

“Well I feel like shit now so!”

“Come on Laura, I’ll take the thing back if it will make you feel better!” I say, leaning my forehead against the door. “Or I’ll give it to your dad.”

“Why would you give it to my dad?” She asks, opening the door causing me to nearly fall.

“Well I guess you’d have to _open_ the gift to find out, rather than criticize me or think differently of my intentions when it comes to giving you things.” I say and I hand her the gift. “And just so you know, your dad helped me out. Seeing as I have been with you the whole time.” I add with a small smile. Laura looks up at me and rolls her eyes before tearing away at the paper and smiling.

“When did you do this? Well not when cause I can see _when_ but how?” She asks, turning the picture frame to face me. The picture was of Laura and I right after I proposed of course, it was candid, her left hand on my cheek showing off her ring as she kissed me.

“Well I have one of those fancy smartphones with a camera in the front, and I took what the kids call a selfie.”

“You’re an ass hole, but I love it. Thank you.” She says, stepping forward to hug me, wrapping her arms around my waist and resting her head on my chest.

“You’re welcome.” I say, kissing the top of her head, inhaling the sweet scent of Laura’s shampoo, oddly enough it smells like sugar cookies or something along those lines. “Now you have a good update for your little cubicle.”

“With all the pictures of you and I, and even Søren, I feel like there will never be enough room for if we have kids.” Laura chimes, catching herself a bit too late.

“So you want kids?” I ask, taking her by the hand and walking over to the bed.

“I mean, we just got engaged. I don’t want kids like tomorrow or next week, or even next year. But I would like to have at least one, two at most. I mean if you want to have any. Do you want to have any? Maybe we’ll just get another cat or something, maybe a dog. You like dogs don’t you? I guess a cat is easier to manage with such weird hours that we work. But we can make it work you know? We always make it work, and you’re looking at me like I’m crazy. Okay, I feel bad, I’ll shut up.” She says rapidly, looking down as her cheeks turned a dark shade of red.

“Laura, look at me.” I say seriously, causing her head to shoot up at the sound of me calling her by her name. “I would like to have kids with you one day, and more than just one is more than okay. I think we should just wait until we’re married to have a more in depth discussion of it. But all I know is that we have two extra bedrooms, and even though one is the master bedroom, I refuse to change my room for the sake of our kids. Maybe we’ll have twins or something so they can share the big room.”

“I think you’d be a good mom.” Laura says, lying against me.

“Really?”

“Yeah, I think there’s a good motherly instinct in you somewhere. You’re very caring and protective; you want what’s best for someone you care about. You’d end up letting kids get away with everything though, I’ll end up being the bad guy.” She says with a laugh.

“You’ll end up being the good guy when you let them have sweets for dinner.” I tease, causing Laura to laugh a bit harder.

“I don’t think I would let them eat sweets for dinner, you would though.” She says, resting her chin on my chest to look up at me.

“I would not!” I gasp. “I’m shocked you’d think that of me cupcake.”

“I feel like our kids would have you wrapped around their little fingers and you’d do anything to make them happy.”

“This discussion is making me want one now.” I say quietly. “I could imagine a little you running around.”

“What about a little you? Wait hang on, I don’t want our kid looking like an ugly mandrake root, so maybe we should hold off on you having a kind.” Laura teases, resulting in me flipping us over and pinning her hands above her head.

“What about you? You looked like one too.”

“But I was an adorable one, you looked like that one that bit Draco’s finger.”

“Yeah, yeah.” I say, brushing off her comment before kissing her passionately.

“What are you doing?” She asks as I begin to kiss down her neck.

“Making a baby.” I say quietly, looking at her in the eye and smiling before kissing her again.

“I love you.”

“And I love you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So smut is awkward to write. I don't care what anyone says.


	11. Chapter 11

-Carmilla POV-

“Cupcake?” I call out, walking into the apartment with two armfuls of packages. “Laura, I know you’re home, I see your Tardis bag on the hook.” I grunt, making my way to the kitchen. “Where are you? I have cookies!” I sing, thinking that will peek her interest.

“I’m in the bathroom!”

“I knew cookies would get your attention. What’s wrong?” I ask, walking in to see her sitting on the edge of the bathtub.

“Nothing’s wrong.”

“Okay, well I have to finish unpacking the groceries and we have a meeting with the wedding planner in an hour.”

“Wait!”

“What?” I say, crossing my arms over my chest and leaning against the doorframe.

“I – I took a test.”

“Like a test, test?” I ask wide-eyed. It has been about six weeks since we got back from out Hawaiian vacation, and things seemed to be getting out into perspective for us. We told everyone about the engagement as soon as we got back, resulting in Laf throwing an engagement party with everyone there, even Mattie and Will showed up, which was nice being able to catch up a bit with them, even though we don’t always get along. Laura of course invited her friends from work, which resulted in me getting bombarded by several new faces as well as some old ones. But most of all, after all the talk about kids while we were away, and a lot of thought and consideration, and finding the right donor, Laura decided to start fertility treatments as soon as we got home.

“Yeah.”

“Yes?”

“Yes.” She whispers in my ear before kissing me.

“We’re going to be moms?” I ask quietly, resting my forehead on hers.

“Yes Carm, we’re going to be moms.” She whispers, nodding her head before squeezing her arms a little bit tighter and pulling me in for a kiss. “I love you.”

“I love you. What are we going to name them? I don’t want to go nine months referring to my kid as it, or them, or the baby. I want to give them an identity.” I say, placing my hands in Laura’s toned stomach.

“Let’s wait until we see a doctor first, then we an talk about that. I’d rather get the right tests done and have it confirmed by Dr. Callis first.” Laura explains, kissing me on the cheek before walking out of the bathroom.

“Well we’ll have to call later after our appointment with Natalie, we have to go over the venue for the wedding.”

“I thought we said we were having an April wedding at that one vineyard you like on Long Island?”

“Okay, so that’s a given then, what about the invitations? How do you want those to look?”

“We decided on a theme wedding I thought?”

“Harry Potter themed wedding? You still want to go along with that?”

“I think it would be fun. Have four long tables for everyone to sit at, accommodate the house that they belong to or would fit in properly, and we sit at the front of the set up. You know like where Dumbledore and McGonagall sit, even though I’d rather be at the Hufflepuff table. But seeing as Laf is a known Ravenclaw and Perry is more of a Hufflepuff, that may be a tough call, but we know that Kirsch and Danny will sit at the Gryffindor table. Mattie and Will are for sure Slytherin, so is your dad and stepmom, my dad is Hufflepuff, although Gryffindor may not be too far off for him. JP is a Hufflepuff, and Elsie is a Slytherin, I think.” Laura explains at a rate of a million miles an hour. “Oh, and of course, depending on if you decided to wear a shirt and tie, you will have your Slytherin tie on and my flowers are going to be yellow for Hufflepuff.”

“You’re such a dork.” I say, pulling her into my arms and resting my head on her shoulder. “Whatever you want to do, we’ll do.”

“Can we make the invites look like Hogwarts letters?”

“Yes we can do that.”

“You’re the best.”

“I know.”

“Are you going to actually enjoy it and admit you love Harry Potter, or are you going to be a broody grump about it?”

“I think it will be fun, like really fun.”

“Oh it will be.” Laura says with a smirk leaning in to kiss me. “So, we have to meet Natalie?”

“Yes, we’re having a meeting over dinner downtown.” I explain, kissing Laura on the cheek before walking out of the kitchen. “I just want to change my shirt.” After quickly changing my shirt and Laura deciding to change her outfit all together. We were finally on the subway to meet Natalie.

“Why are you so fidgety?” Laura asks, placing her hand on my knee to stop it from shaking.

“We’re planning our wedding, I just feel like it’s a bit of a nervous endeavor.”

“There is nothing to be nervous about.” She whispers in my ear before kissing me on the cheek. “In a few short months you’ll be my wife and I’ll be yours and we’ll be getting ready to bring a baby into the world.”

“A little baby Karnstein.”

“I can’t wait.” Laura says, giving me a quick kiss before we exit the train and make our way to where Natalie said to meet her, which thankfully wasn’t too far from the subway seeing as it was starting to snow a little bit.

“Hello.” Natalie says happily as we walk into the restaurant.

“Hey.” Laura says, giving her a hug.

“Okay, so straight to business, you are booked for Martha Clara Vineyards for June sixth of this year, 2015, which is a Saturday. How many guests are you having?”

“I think around a hundred.”

“Yeah, that sounds about right. Between our family and friends.”

“Okay so one hundred people, and how do you want the invitations to look?”

“We want a Harry Potter themed wedding, and we want the invitations to look like letters to Hogwarts.” Laura says excitedly.

“No problem, not my first Harry Potter wedding. House tables, house colors the whole thing? Do you want the place cards to have little owls on them? Like clipped to the top like the owl is dropping it off?”

“Yes, everything.” Laura chimes, nearly jumping out of her seat with joy.

“Take it easy Cupcake.” I say, placing my hand on her shoulder to calm down.

“I’m just super excited Carm.”

“I know you are, but take it down a notch.”

“So flower girl and ring bearer?” Natalie asks, taking a sip from her wine glass.

“My little cousins Mikey and Grace.”

“Okay. Okay, the invitations should be done in a couple of weeks for you guys to send out. The only thing that you need to do is get fitted for and pick out when you’re wearing, and the type of flowers you want to have, cake, DJ, little things like that, but we have time.” Natalie chimes. “Anything else we need to do?”

“No that should be it.”

“Yep, that is good. We’ll go through everything else next week or so.” Laura says with a smile.

 

-Laura POV-

“Carm?” I ask, walking into our room to find her reading a book, I walk over and sit on her lap.

“To what do I owe the pleasure of being disrupted?” She asks playfully, marking her page and pushing her glasses on top of her head.

“Well, I have that appointment soon and I was just making sure you’re still coming with me.”

“Why wouldn’t I come with you?”

“You seemed so into your book that I was calling you for ten minutes and thought you forgot or something.”

“How could I forget a baby appointment, no matter how into this dopey book I am. I read this book three times already. When do we have to go?”

“We have to leave like now.” I say, giving her a kiss before getting off of her and walking out of the room. After a short walk to the doctor’s office Carmilla and I were sitting in Dr. Callis’s office, waiting for her to come back with the results of my blood test.

“You okay Cupcake?” Carmilla asks, taking my hand in hers and intertwining out fingers.

“I’m just nervous, what’s taking so long?”

“Everything will be okay.” Carm says, leaning over to kiss me when the doctor walks in.

“Hello.” The doctor says cheerfully. “Sorry to keep you waiting so long, things were a little slow in the lab today.” She says, sitting down at her desk in front of us. “So.” She breathes, opening the folder the she placed on her desk.

“So.”

“You are indeed pregnant. The early stages of course, maybe about five or six weeks, but pregnant nonetheless.” Dr. Callis says with a smile. “You did everything you needed to prior to conception, took all of the vitamins, you eat very healthy for the most part, your blood sugar was a little high, I’m assuming you ate a few cookies before you come here today.”

“Maybe.”

“Well, you may have to cut back on your cookie intake, too much refined sugar isn’t a good thing, but cravings are cravings.” Dr. Callis shrugs.

“Don’t worry Doc, I’ll put a lock on her cookie cabinet if I have to.” Carmilla says with a wink.

“Whatever it takes.” Dr. Callis says with a small laugh. “Okay, so I would like to see you in a week or so for your first sonogram.” She says with a smile. “Congratulations.”

“Thank you Dr. Callis.” I say as I stand up and shake her hand, watching Carmilla follow my lead.

“Thanks a lot Doc.”

“I’ll see you ladies next week.” Dr. Callis says, ushering us out of her office. Carmilla goes to the reception area to make me an appointment for the following week while I walked into the lobby to wait.

“Ready?”

“Ready.”

“Are you going to tell your dad, or are you going to wait?” Carmilla asks, wrapping her arm around my waist.

“I think I’ll wait until after the wedding. I’ll be far enough a long to make sure things are going well. I don’t want to jinx anything.”

“Whatever you want to do.” Carmilla says, kissing the side of my head. “Can we give them a name now?”

“We can talk names as soon as we get home.” I say, squeezing her hand a bit as we walk out onto the sidewalk.

“How about we discuss it on the walk home?”

“Okay, throw some names out there.”

“I think for a boy, I like the name Ryder, and for a girl I’d say Alicia, but if we want to be neutral, Carter.”

“We are not naming, our daughter after that actress you’re obsessed with.” I say sternly. “So I like the name Sophie for a girl, Aidan for a boy, and Devon for neutrality.”

“Okay fine. I like the name Sophie, so we can go with that.”

“Would you rather have a boy of girl?”

“I think I’d rather have a girl. It would be fun to play dress up with her, make her pretty and everything. But at the same time not force the issue of her being feminine.”

“I’d like that too. So in hopes of her being a girl, we shall name her Sophie for now.” I say, walking over to give Carmilla a kiss.

“Well then, hello Sophie.” She says as she crouches down to be at eye level with my stomach before lifting up my shirt and kissing just below my belly button. “I know you must be the size of a bean or something, but in nine short months you will be in this crazy world driving me and your mother crazy.”

“She won’t drive us crazy.”

“You don’t know that, just wait until she’s a teenager and brings home someone we don’t like. What are we going to do, let get away with murder?”

“She isn’t even born yet, she is barely anything in there and you’re jumping to her being a teenager?” I ask, pulling Carm to her feet. “And we still have to get married.”

“I know, I know. I just never thought I’d be this excited to be a mom.”

“I know you are Sweetie. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

 

-Carmilla POV-

After a long week of classes, wedding planning, and a couple of days of Laura dealing with a little bit of morning sickness, it was time for our first sonogram appointment. Laura was lying on the exam table waiting for Dr. Callis, holding my hand tightly as we waited. “Sundance if you squeeze my hand any harder we may end up having to visit the emergency room today.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.” I say, pulling my hand away and shaking it.

“Hello ladies.” Dr. Callis says as she walks into the room with a smile. “How are you?”

“Good, everything is good.”

“How have you been feeling?” Dr. Callis asks as she turns on the machine and lifts up Laura’s shirt.

“A little morning sickness, but all in all nothing unbearable.”

“That’s normal. This may be cold.” The doctor says as she shakes a bottle before squirting some of the gel on Laura’s lower abdomen, causing Laura to hiss a bit. “Okay let’s see if we can see the little peanut.” She says as she runs the senor over the area where the gel was. After a moment, a little blob came on the screen. “That is your baby.” She says, pointing to the screen. “It’s obviously too early to tell a lot of things, but is evident that they are there. We’ll be able to tell a lot more in a few weeks or so.” Dr. Callis says, taking the sensor off of Laura’s abdomen, and handing her a paper towel.

“Is there anything Laura should do until we see you again?”

“Nothing really just yet. Just the usual, eat healthy; drink plenty of water, no alcohol or caffeine. And based on how far along you are now, I’d say you’re going to be due mid-November. When was your last period?” She asks, reaching over to grab Laura’s file.

“Mid-January, that was the last time I got it before the last treatment. Seeing as the other one didn’t take.”

“Okay, so if my calculations are correct, as well as yours, I’m thinking you’ll have this little one around November 24th or so. Give or take a week, and that’s if there are no complications, everyone is different of course.” Dr. Callis explains. “So that’s that. I will see you two in a few weeks.” She says, extending her hands for us to shake before walking out of the room. Laura sits up and pulls her shirt back down.

“The number twenty-four is haunting us, I swear.”

“It’s our lucky number. We were twenty-four when we met, we started dating on the twenty-fourth, maybe it’s a sign that everything is going the way it should be. Too bad we can’t make the date of our wedding the twenty-fourth.”

“Well it’s too late for that.” Laura says, her attitude changing a bit.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, I’m just tired. I want to go take a nap and finish the article I’m working on before I have to email it to JP tonight.” She says, leaning in to kiss me quickly before walking around me and out of the room.

“Hey.” I say, following close behind Laura and grabbing at her hand to stop her. “Something just irked you, what was it?”

“What if I fall into the category of a woman with complications?” She asks sadly, looking down at the floor. “What if something happens to me?”

“Don’t say things like that.” I say, taking her head in my hands and lifting her face to look at me. “There is nothing you have to worry about okay? You are strong, and healthy, and I’m pretty sure you are willing to do anything for the sake of our child.” I explain to her with a small smile. “You’re Laura Hollis, you are the strongest person I know, and I know you will be okay when that time comes. Everything will be okay when we welcome little Sophie into the world.”

“I’m going to laugh so hard if we end up having a boy.” Laura says, taking my hand in hers as we walked out of the office.

“No, no I think there is a little girl in there. I can feel it.”


	12. Chapter 12

-Laura POV-

“Cupcake?” Carmilla asks as she walks into our room.

“Yeah?” I ask quietly, rolling my head against the pillow to face Carm.

“How do you feel?”

“Tired.”

“Well that’s nothing new.” She says, brushing the hair back from my face. “Is everything else okay?”

“Yeah. I guess. I think I’m gonna tell my dad.”

“That’s great Cupcake, we should tell him.” Carmilla says with a smile. “Want me to call him?”

“Grab my laptop, I want to Skype him.” I say, sitting up. Carmilla gets up from the bed, and walks out of our room to the living room where I last left my laptop; she walks in with a smile and joins me on the bed as I open the computer and make the call to my dad. “Hi Daddy.” I say with a smile when his face comes on screen.

“Hello girls, how are you doing?” He asks through a yawn.

“We’re really good Sherman.” Carmilla says with a smile, taking my hand in hers.

“That’s good. Laura, are you sure you’re okay, you look a little tired.”

“I’m okay daddy. We actually have some news for you.” I say, smiling shyly as I look over at Carmilla.

“Okay, what’s up?”

“Well, Sherman, wait you want me to do it? I think you should.”

“Daddy, Carm and I would like to tell you that we’re going to have a baby.” I say quietly, watching his face light up.

“Really?”

“Yes Sir.” Carmilla says with a nod. “Laura is already a few weeks along.”

“How far along, exactly do you think?” He asks, the smile on his face not seeming to falter at all.

“About eight weeks now. Are you ready to be a grandpa?”

“I was ready to face that fact the day you and Carmilla got engaged.” He says with a laugh. “Are you going to find out if they’re a boy or a girl before or after?”

“I think we’re going to find out before. Carm here already thinks we’re having a girl.”

“Hey, if we put it out there, then it will happen.” Carmilla says defensively.

“That’s true, so have you discussed names?”

“We chose Sophie for a girl. Sophie Rose Karnstein.”

“So you _are_ taking Carmilla’s name?”

“Is that okay? I mean we could hyphen it, but Karnstein is long enough to have to write, and I was going to maybe just keep Hollis and give the kids her name, but then I just thought it would be confusing for them to understand so I just decided to take Karnstein.”

“It’s all okay Sweetie, there is nothing to worry or be concerned about.” He says with a smile. “And Sophie is a beautiful name, what about a boy name?”

“I think we’re going to go with Ryder. Ryder Sherman Karnstein.” Carmilla says.

“Another good name. Well I hope you get your little girl, but boys are always fun too. Either way, expect Grandpa here to be spoiling them rotten.”

“I wouldn’t expect anything less from you Daddy.” I say with a smile.

“Well thank you girls for telling me. Are you going to make an official announcement or?”

“I don’t know. But you can tell whoever you want to tell of family, it may actually be easier that way.” I say through a yawn. “But I wanna tell Gammy and Poppy.”

“Okay Sweetheart, well I’ll let you make that call. I have to get going anyway, I have a meeting. I’ll talk to you soon and congratulations sweetheart.” He says, blowing us a kiss before ending the call.

“Call Gammy?” Carmilla asks, resting her head on my shoulder.

“Can you do it? I mean I know I should do it, but I don’t feel well.” I say, jumping out of bed and running to the bathroom.

 

-Carmilla POV-

“Okay then.” I say as Laura runs out of the room before taking my phone out of my pocket. “Hey Gammy.”

_“Hello Carmilla, how are you? How’s Laura?”_

“We’re good, we actually have a little news for you, Laura gave me the honor of telling you that you’re going to be a Great-Gammy.” I say, listening to her coo.

_“Oh really? That’s wonderful. Where is Laura can you put her on?”_

“She’s in the bathroom right now, she has a little morning sickness even though it’s the afternoon.”

_“Tell her to drink peppermint tea, or ginger tea. It’ll help with the sick feeling.”_

“Will do Gammy, I have to go check on her now, I’ll make sure she’ll give you a call when she feels good.”

 _“Okay Sweetheart, give her my best and congratulations. Talk to you soon.”_ She says, hanging up the phone. I toss my phone on the bed and get up to go check on Laura; I walk in to find her hunched over the toilet.

“Whoever says motherhood is a wonderful thing, must have forgotten about the first-trimester of their pregnancy because this fucking sucks.” She groans, leaning up against the bathtub.

“Well the little bundle of joy may make up for it. Then we have to deal with something that eats, poops, and cries all the time.”

“Changing diapers will be easier than throwing up and being tired all the time.”

“Well your first-trimester ends in about six weeks, then it should be pretty much smooth sailing into your second and then the third, well swollen ankles and constant peeing isn’t all that bad.”

“So you did read those books you bought me.” Laura states, rather than asks.

“Why wouldn’t I read them? I want to make sure everything is going the way it should. I want to know what to expect. When the worst time for mood swings are, when you’re going to go through the weirdest craving periods, or even what to expect when you go into labor. I want to be ready for everything.” I say, brushing the hair from her forehead and kissing it.

“You’re the best.”

“I try.”

“You succeed.” She chuckles lightly. “You really are the best girlfriend, fiancée, soon-to-be wife a girl could ever ask for.” She whispers, looking up at me innocently. “I love you.”

“I love you.” I say quietly, leaning down slightly to kiss her. “You know we’re going to have to get to Laf and Perry before your dad does right.” I inform her, causing her to shoot up.

“Crap, crap, crap. Can you call them? Invite them over for dinner or I’ll text Perry, yeah I’ll text Perry, ooh, maybe she’ll cook so I don’t have to.” Laura says, jumping up and running to get her phone. I sigh and get up, walking out of the bathroom. “Perry said they’ll be over in about an hour, she said she’s going to cook, she’s just going to the market first.” Laura says, meeting me in the hallway. Something then comes over me, causing me to pull Laura into me by the waist, catching her off guard as I kiss her passionately for a moment. “What was that for?” She asks when I pull away, her breath ragged.

“Because I love you, and I just needed to express that at this moment. I don’t know what to do without you.” I say, resting my forehead on hers.

“Well thankfully for both of us, we don’t have to find out.” She says with a smile, kissing me on the cheek before stepping out of my embrace. Sure enough exactly an hour later Laf and Perry were trotting into the apartment with armfuls of groceries.

“Hello.” Perry chimes as she walks into the kitchen.

“Hey guys.” I say from the couch, too comfortable to get up.

“Hey.” Laf says, sitting down beside me. “What’s up?”

“Same old.”

“Where’s Laura?”

“She’s lying down, she didn’t feel too good today. Would you like a drink?” I ask, getting up and walking into the kitchen to find Perry already chopping away at vegetables. “Thank god you know your way around this kitchen.”

“Yeah well. Where’s Laura?”

“She’s lying down. She didn’t feel good today.” I say, grabbing a beer for Laf and myself. I turn around to see a sleepy Laura standing in the entryway, rubbing her eyes and yawning. “There’s the sleepy head.” I say, walking over to her as she walks towards me, we meet in the middle and she rests her head on my chest as I wrap my arms around her. “You feel alright cupcake?” I ask, kissing the top of her head as she nods in response.

“Hi Perry.” Laura says quietly, her head still resting on my chest.

“Hey Laura, how are you feeling?”

“Just tired.” Laura shrugs, turning her head to kiss my neck before taking my hands and walking into the living room where Laf sat.

“Hey Laur, you okay?” They ask as I hand them their beer. Laura leads me over to the big armchair, sitting on my lap as I sat down and curling into me, reaching for a blanket off of the pile next to us and pulling it over the two of us.

“I’m okay Laf.” She says, resting her head in the crook of my neck.

“Ew, you seem cuddlier than normal.” They say, making a gagging noise.

“Shut it.” I say throwing a pillow at them.

“Don’t throw stuff at my person.” Perry says defensively, curling into Laf’s side and kissing them on the cheek.

“Ew.” I say, making a gagging noise. “What’s for dinner?”

“Soup, it’s cold outside and Laura said she wasn’t feeling too good earlier when she texted me.”

“Thank you Perry.” Laura says with a small smile as she sits up straight. “So, we have to tell you something.” She says, taking my hand in hers. “I’m pregnant.” She announces.

“Oh that’s lovely.” Perry coos, getting up to hug Laura.

“Congrats you guys.”

“Thanks Brainiac.” I say with a smile, holding Laura closer to me.

“So when are you due?” Perry asks excitedly.

“The doctor is shooting for November 24th.” I say happily. “And I’m hoping for a girl.”

“Did you think of names? There’s always room for another LaFontaine in the world.” Laf says, sticking their chest out a bit.

“We chose Sophie for a girl and Ryder for a boy.” Laura says, placing her hand over mine under the blanket.

“Sophie is a beautiful name, and Ryder is so handsome, oh my I can’t wait for the baby to come.” Perry nearly shrieks.

“Well Auntie Perry is ready to babysit straight out of the whom Soph.”

“Auntie Perry and Laf.”

“Has a weird ring to it, but whatever. I can’t wait to be Sophie’s person.” Laf says with a shrug. “You really think you’re having a girl?”

“I feel it. I mean we’re not going to reinforce the issues of girly things and whatever, but we will go with the flow of it. Who knows, maybe she’ll just want to be seen as a person rather than being objectified for being a girl. Or she would end up feeling more like a boy, I’m not going to have my kid live in fear of not being loved, or being seen as worthless for whatever choices they make in life.”

“We just want to raise a smart, healthy, and happy little human.” Laura says, kissing me on the cheek.

“And that’s all that matters. As long as the little one is happy. Is she going to take Laf’s old room?”

“The science lab seems like the best choice for now, yes. As much as I don’t want to give up my room, I don’t think the little one should be in the master bedroom.”

“Ugh, the science lab is going to be pink now isn’t it?” Laf complains.

“No way, not pink. I hate pink.” Laura grimaces. “We’re going to paint it a nice calm color like blue, or a pale yellow. Pink is too cliché if we are in fact having a girl.”

“There you heard the mommy.”

“Well I’d rather it be those colors than pink.” Laf grimaces.

“I’m not about having bubble gum colored walls in my house as it is.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Anyway.” Laura says, rolling her eyes. “Will you guys help us when we have to paint? I can’t be around when you’re doing it, so maybe Laf can help Carm, and Perry and I can go shopping.”

“Of course Laura, whenever you’re ready to do that just let us know.” Perry chimes, looking at her watch. “Dinner should be ready in about five minutes.”

“Thanks again Perry for coming by on such short notice and for making dinner.” Laura says happily.

“That’s what friends are for!” Perry calls out.

 

-Laura POV-

“Hey.” Carmilla says quietly, walking into our bedroom.

“Hey.”

“Are you okay?”

“I’m alright.”

“Hello little one.” She coos, lifting up my shirt and kissing my stomach.

“Carm, they aren’t aware of you just yet.” I chuckle. In eight weeks, Carmilla’s enthusiasm about being a mom has been amazing. I never thought she would be so into having a child and being a mother.

“But that doesn’t mean I can’t talk to her.” She whines, looking up at me. “I want her to know everything that’s going on, how you’re going to be the best mom in the world, how she’s going to have the best parents in the world.”

“Are you going to be Mom, or am I?”

“I think I want to be Mama, you can be Mommy. You seem like you’ll be a better mommy.”

“And you seem like you’ll be an amazing mom.” I say with a smile. “Regardless of what our child calls you.”

“Sophie. We are having a girl, and her name is Sophie.”

“You are so persistent.” I tease, curling into Carmilla’s side as she moves to lie beside me.

“Because I know we’re having a girl. I can feel it.” She says excitedly. “Imagine if we have twins.”

“Oh god, I can barely handle the thought of one, not the two would be bad, but still.” I say, resting my head on her chest.

“Hey cupcake?” She asks, sitting up a bit.

“Yeah Carm?”

“Do you still want to have that elaborate wedding?” Carmilla asks, placing her hand over mine.

“Why?” I ask, cocking my head to the side.

“I have an idea.” She says with a grin.


	13. Chapter 13

-Sherman POV-

“I’m sorry you had to rearrange your schedule Daddy, but Carm and I really didn’t want to wait any longer.” Laura says, looking at herself in the mirror yet again.

“It’s nothing to apologize for sweetie, the whole elaborate wedding didn’t really seem like the style you two have; you seem more laid back anyway.” I say, looking over Laura’s shoulder and fixing my tie.

“Thank you though Daddy. You have no idea how grateful I am.” She says, turning around and smiling at me. Laura and Carmilla decided that they didn’t want to wait until June to get married, so rather than having that _grand_ themed wedding they were planning, they cancelled everything that pertained to it, and made a wedding half the size home here in Silas, but of course, Harry Potter was the main aspect, so themed wedding with less people basically. One of the perks of being the main contractor of the newest country club in the area was that I was allowed to use it for their wedding venue last minute with no problem, which also was beneficial for them, seeing as it is the first event to be held there.

“You look like your mother.”

“Oh Dad, please don’t let me cry. I’m already on a thin emotional state as it is.”

“Laura if you cry, Perry is going to be pissed about your makeup.” Laf informs from the doorway, seeing as Perry was bouncing back and forth between both Laura and Carmilla.

“Shut up Laf!”

“Don’t ruin you makeup Laura!”

“You girls and your makeup, something that I was never able to wrap my mind around.” I say, shaking my head a bit. “I’m going to go check on Carmilla.” I say, patting Laura on the shoulder before leaving her and walking down the hall to Carmilla’s room, knocking on the door lightly.

“Yeah?” She calls out with a laugh. I open the door and walk in to find her buttoning up a crisp white button up shirt. “Hello Sir.” She says with a big smile, buttoning the top button.

“You and Laura really are taking this Harry Potter thing to heart aren’t you?”

“How does the expression go?” She asks with a crooked grin.

“Happy wife, happy life. Although in this situation, it works both ways.”

“Oh I know Sir, but I want Laura to be happy always. Between moving the wedding up and making sure I can make our child the happiest in the world that is what will bring me happiness, making sure they’re happy.” She explains, grabbing her Slytherin tie from the back of the chair.

“I can tell you right now, you are doing an excellent job at that.”

“How does she look?” She asks quietly, looking at me through the mirror.

“Kitty, you know it’s bad luck to know how your wife looks before the wedding.” William says from the corner.

“Will, this is an anything but traditional wedding and we all know it. Knowing how my wife looks is far from bad luck.” Carmilla snaps at her brother.

“She looks more like her mother than I ever could have imagined.”

“Don’t go soft on me Sherman.” She teases, turning to face me with a smile. “I – I want to see her.”

“Now?”

“As soon as I can, yes. I want to see her before the ceremony.”

“Okay, I’ll arrange it.”

 

-Carmilla POV-

“I wanted to get married in front of a judge you know.” I say to Will, sitting down across from him. “I didn’t want to have this big thing, this isn’t me.”

“You know, we aren’t in each other’s lives on a regular basis, and I get that that may be a contributing factor to not knowing each other very well, but I know that when I see you look at that girl, something in you changes. You seem to visibly calm down the instant you see her. And your eyes light up when you talk about your kid. A lot changes in you Carmilla, things that can’t go unnoticed.” Will explains. “Regardless of what you want, you do everything to make her happy, even if it meant relocating your wedding to this Hell hole, or going along with some cheesy theme, you do it to make your girl happy. That’s what marriage is, making someone happy even if it doesn’t make you happy when you do it. You’re in love, deeply in love.”

“I know.” I say, rubbing my hands on my thighs. “I want to get this over with, I want her to be a Karnstein, and prepare for my child.”

“That right there, what you just said that’s all you should be concerned with.” Will says, getting up and looking in the mirror, fixing his Slytherin tie. “Besides, Harry Potter themed wedding is the best idea in the whole world.”

“Yeah, that I can’t deny. Alright, I need to see my fiancée while she’s still Laura Hollis.”

“Okay, go wait in main hall of this place, I’ll send her your way.” He says with a smile, walking out of the room. I make my way to the front of the building, walking around the middle of the floor, looking out the large floor-to-ceiling windows to look out over the vast snow covered field surrounding the area.

“You look so small in comparison to that window.” I hear Laura chime from behind me. I turn around to see her in a bright white wedding gown. It fitted her torso perfectly before poofing out at her waist, very Scarlett O’Hara in Gone With the Wind, if you will. Her honey blonde hair was pulled back into a loose bun; stray pieces feel here and there. The only piece of jewelry on her was the necklace I got her on our six-month anniversary. Her bouquet was a mix of yellow roses and blue hydrangeas, clearly sticking to her Hufflepuff theme. I couldn’t stop staring at her to the point where I didn’t even realize she was walking over to me. “I have rendered you speechless, haven’t I?” She asks quietly. Not being able to form words all I could do was nod. Before I knew it, tears were running down my cheeks.

“You’re taller than me Cupcake.” I whisper, looking up at her slightly.

“That’s all you can say?”

“Oh and you look gorgeous, but that goes without saying.” I say quietly as my eyes dance across her face.

“Same goes for you.” She says quietly, placing her hands on my shoulders.

“Yeah well, I know I’m hot.” I say cockily, placing my hands at her waist, resting my forehead against hers. “Just think, in less than an hour you’re going to be my wife, and I’m going to be yours.”

“Forever and ever.”

“How do you feel? Did you have any morning sickness today? It should be easing up a bit by now.”

“I feel good Carm, great actually. What you can’t tell under this dress is that I’m showing a little bit.” She says quietly with a smile. “I kind of woke up this morning and had a hard time seeing my feet.”

“Our little girl is getting big in there.” I say, placing my hand on, what I assumed to be, her lower abdominal area.

“You’re so sure aren’t you? 100%.”

“110% sure.” I say, taking her face in my hands and leaning in to kiss her softly. “Ready to do this?”

“Ready.

“I love you Cupcake.” I say, making my way towards where the ceremony was taking place, one of the over-sized rooms of this already over-sized venue.

 

-Laura POV-

“Ready Sweetheart?” My dad asks, holding his arm out for me to take.

“Yeah Dad.” I say, taking a deep breath. Clearly we weren’t traditional in the aspect of getting married in a church and all that stuff, seeing as Carm and I aren’t entirely religious as it is it didn’t seem right I do it that way. Thankfully this place was about to accommodate everything. “I’m ready.” I say, looking up at him and smiling.

“Okay.” He smiles, we begin to walk down the aisle, everyone was smiling at me, that much I knew for sure without having to look, seeing as the only person I was focused on at the moment was Carmilla. Once I reached her, my father followed the formalities of tradition and offered me to Carmilla; he kissed my cheek before walking over to sit with my grandmother. Carmilla takes my hand in hers and smiles at me before we turn to face the minister. 

* * *

“Cupcake? Cupcake wake up!” Carmilla says frantically into my ear. “Come on Laura.”

“What happened?” I ask, opening my eyes to see that I am looking up at Carmilla and the ceiling.

“You fainted.” She says lightheartedly, kissing my forehead. “What’s the last thing you remember? You were out for a little bit.”

“I at least said I do.” I say with a small smile. “That’s about it.”

“Okay. Well you scared the shit out of everyone, and after enough convincing everyone went into the catering hall, so we should probably let them know you are okay.” She says, helping my sit up. “Perry also didn’t forget to mention the fact that you didn’t eat anything this morning, which is not only bad for you, but bad for the little one.”

“Yeah, I was nervous and didn’t feel good so I didn’t think anything of it.”

“Well you can’t do that again, go it?” She says, pulling a granola bar out of her back pocket and handing it to me. “It may seem stupid seeing as we’re about to have a dinner, but odds are you may not get a chance to eat a full mean with all the talking and socializing you’ll have to do, so humor me and eat it so you don’t faint again Mrs. Karnstein.”

“Thank you Mrs. Karnstein.” I say playfully, opening the granola bar and taking a bite as Carmilla kissing the side of my head.

“I love you.”

“I love you.” I say with a smile, taking the last bite of the granola bar that I managed to devour in three bites. “Ready to party?”

“Yes ma’am.” She says, jumping to her feet and taking my hand.

“I’m shorter than you now.”

“Well I took those ridiculous shoes off of you.”

“Thank you.” I say, kissing her for a moment before we hear a cough from behind us. “Oh, hi Daddy.”

“Well it’s nice to see you came to, but you don’t have a reception to get to and guests that are starting to get hungry for dinner, seeing as you missed your cocktail hour. Natalie is about to have out heads if we don’t get dinner out there soon.” He says, walking over to me and giving me a hug. “I love you Sweetheart.”

“I love you too Dad.” I mumble into his chest.

“I just want you to know, both of you to know, that Lisa would have been very proud of both of you today.”

“I know Daddy.” I say quietly, leaning into Carmilla’s embrace as she wraps her arm around my waist. “But she is here somewhere, I can feel it.” 

“That she is sweetie, that she is.” He says. “Alright, let’s go celebrate! Mrs. and Mrs. Karnstein.”

 

-Carmilla POV-

“Good Morning Mrs. Karnstein.” Laura whispers in my ear as she kisses me awake.

“Morning Mrs. Karnstein.” I say with a smile, kissing Laura softly before opening my eyes to see her smiling wide. Married life has been something else for the past six weeks. Everything for the most part remained the same between Laura and I; it was just the little things that made everything seem surreal. From Laura making a point to order return address stickers with ‘The Karnsteins’ printed on them, all the way to beginning to decorate the nursery for our baby. Seeing as Laura was about seventeen weeks now, not only was her belly growing, but we were also a few steps closer to solidifying that we are indeed having a baby girl. “How do you feel?”

“I feel good today.” She says with a smile, placing her hand on her belly. “Although your snoring made her jump every so slightly. I felt it.”

“I don’t snore!”

“Yes you do.”

“I don’t believe you.” I say, lifting up Laura’s shirt to expose her belly. “Hello my love. If I did wake you up, I am sorry. Mommy is a liar though so we may have to have it proven to me. How are you in there? I can’t wait to meet you. I bet you’re growing to be just as beautiful as mommy.” I chime, kissing her growing belly as Laura runs her hands though my hair. “What do you want for breakfast before you go into work?”

“Chocolate chip pancakes.” She chimes, patting her belly. “And some bacon if we have it.”

“Yes ma’am. Get ready, it’ll be waiting for you when you’re done.” I say, kissing her belly before kissing Laura softly and getting out of bed. I walk into the kitchen to find Søren waiting by his food dish, something he only recently started to do seeing as Laura and I decided he shouldn’t sleep in bed with us anymore due to the fact that the baby would be in our room for the fist couple of months until she was ready to sleep through the bulk of the night. “Okay fatty, hang on.” I say when Søren meows at me when I walk over to him. After about twenty minutes I felt Laura’s belly on my back as she walked up behind me, wrapping her arms around me.

“Soon I won’t be able to do this. It’s hard enough already.”

“I know, I can tell cupcake.” I say, turning to look over at her. “You’re apple juice and vitamin are on the table.”

“Thank you.” She says happily. “You have this domestic thing down pat, I don’t ever want it to end.” She chimes as she walks over and takes her seat at the table.

“It won’t so don’t worry.” I say, plating our breakfast and walking over to the table. “What time are you done with work today?” I ask as Laura begins eating.

“I think I have a meeting today, so it’s going to be a late day.” She explains. “Why?”

“I wanted to go to the store and get some baby things. But we can wait until the weekend when we both have the time.”

“We can go tomorrow, what time are you done with your day?”

“I have a late-ish day, it depends on how long it takes me to grade papers, you know I hate brining work home, just like you do.”

“So this weekend it is then.”

“It’s a date.”

“I love you.” Laura says, finishing up her breakfast before getting up and putting her plate in the sink.

“You’re bag is on the table by the door, there are some granola bars and things to snack on if you need anything. There’s also you’re water bottle with ice water in it. Don’t forget you need to drink at least two of those at work today. And I also gave you a few cookies as a treat.” I explain, watching Laura’s expression change. “What?”

“You are the best wife a girl could ever ask for.”

“I do my best. I love you and have a good day. If you need me call me.”

“I will mom, don’t worry.” She teases. “I’ll call you at my lunch break.” She adds, kissing me again walking out of the kitchen.

“I’ll see you later.” I say, following her through the living room.

“Have a good day.” She says with a smile, giving me a hug.

“You too.” I say, placing my hands on Laura’s belly. “Be good for mommy.” I say to her belly, kneeling down to kiss it. “I love you.”

“We love you too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter was a little all over the place, but I want to move things along a bit to get the baby show on the road. I will do flashbacks and things to fill in the lack of vows if anyone wants it, so please drop comments, they really keep me going when it comes to keeping up with updates :)


	14. Chapter 14

-Carmilla POV-

“Everything in the place is either happy zoo animals or happy bugs.” I complain as we walk up and down the aisles of the baby store. “ I don’t need a happy zebra watching my kid in her sleep.”

“I think they’re cute.” Laura chimes. “But I also think we should wait until we know we are, for sure, having a girl.”

“Okay. Let’s at least pick out furniture.” I say, leading the way towards the bedroom sets.

“Hey Carm?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you think we’re going to stay in the city? Like do you think we’ll move into a real house one day?”

“If it came to that, yeah, I could see us living the whole white-picket-fence lifestyle. I mean we’ll have to commute, or I could always get a job at a different college if I had to, you would just have to commute. But I think we have time to decide that.” I say, kissing the side of her head. “Do you want that? Four-bedroom house, garage, fenced in yard, maybe a pool, oh and let’s not forget the minivan.”

“I would never be caught dead in a minivan.” Laura grimaces as she shoved me. “I would get a Jeep or something. Are you going to be the eco-friendly philosophy professor that drives a Prius?”

“Hell no! We’ll be the friendly neighborhood lesbians that drive Jeeps.” I say with a laugh.

“You are unbelievable.” She says with a laugh, leaning over to kiss me on the cheek. “So white or dark finish on the furniture?”

“Dark finish looks better, white looks dirty after a while.”

“What are you doing?”

“Making a list, it’ll be easier to order this stuff online and have it delivered to the house wouldn’t it?”

“Or we can just get it now and have it delivered to the house.”

“This is why I married you, you’re so smart!” I exclaim, shoving my phone back in my pocket.

“Well I know you didn’t marry me just for my good looks.” She teases, walking over to where the baby swings and bouncers were.

“Why the hell would anyone spend three hundred dollars on something that your kid is most likely going to poop all over? This think looks like a fucking space ship.”

“You’re cursing in a store that could have little kids come around any corner, cool it with your mouth. Secondly, yes that is ridiculous and does look like a space ship.” Laura says. “Why don’t we get one that doesn’t look like a space ship? These things are useful, my aunts have them and they all say they are a good thing to have.”

“Babies are expensive.”

“Yeah, that’s why they need to be planned out and had at the right time.”

“Sophie better not become a teen mom, I’ll kill the guy.”

“Okay, she isn’t even born yet and you’re almost as protective as my dad. Once you start talking about krav maga lessons and bear spray, I will not hesitate to refrain from sex.”

“Well that’s just a bet I am willing to take, we both know I can last _way_ longer than you can.”

“Shake on it.” She says, sticking her hand out in front of me. “The moment you start acting like my dad, you are _deprived_ from sex for a month.”

“If that happens, the whole you _depriving_ me of sex thing. The first one to cave is stuck on diaper duty for a month.”

“Deal.” She says with a shrug. “If you’re already so protective of her and find it hard to control yourself with me, you will have a fun month of changing diapers.” She chimes. “And if the moment comes and she isn’t in diapers, loser does the dishes for a month, and no cheating with the dishwasher either.”

“Whatever you say Cupcake.” I say with a smirk, leaning in to kiss her.

 

-Laura POV-

“Today is the day Cupcake!” Carmilla shouts as she walks into the nursery where I was sat sorting out the changing table. We ended up ordering the larger furniture, a crib, a rocking chair, changing table, a baby wardrobe things like that just to get the show started. But today was the day we finally were able to find out the sex of the baby. After today we would be able to determine the overall theme of the room, seeing as Carmilla and I both came to the conclusion that a Harry Potter themed nursery may be a bit excessive. “I think Laf and I will be able to have this room painted by Friday. I think it’s good we waited to paint.” She says, sitting on the floor beside be, stretching her arms over her head. “But that doesn’t matter because we get to confirm that little Sophie is indeed little Sophie.”

“If a boy ends up being in there, you don’t know how hard I am going to laugh.”

“What’s wrong?” Carmilla asks, brushing the hair from my face.

“I just want to meet them already. I want everything to be okay.” I say quietly, feeling tears rise in my eyes. “I wish my mom was here.” I add as the tears spill over. “I know I don’t talk about it as much as I should or, in general, but I miss her Carm. She would have known exactly how to help; she would have been able to be a gammy too. Our child is never going to have a gammy to love them.” I cry, resting my head in her chest as she cradles my head. “It’s been a year Carm. It’s been a whole year already.”

“It’s okay Laura, you can cry. You never cry about it, it’s okay to cry about your mom. Hell, I could cry about my mom too, but for me it’s not as fresh it’s not new for me. Our child is going to have a Gammy, I mean of course Lilita is a bitch, but I know that she’s happy to have a grandchild, and Sadie will be like a gammy. What matters most is our child having two parents that will love and care for them all their life. Everything will be okay.” She says reassuringly in my ear as she kisses the side of my head. “I love you Laura, so much. Why don’t we go to this appointment, prove I’m right, and then we can go to that ice cream shop you like.” She adds, pulling away to look me as she takes my face in her hands, looking at me with a small smile. “I love you.”

“I love you.” I whisper against her lips. “I love you so much.” I add, kissing her again before pulling away and wiping my cheeks. “I’m going to go wash my face and then we can go.” I say trying to stand up. “Can you help me?” I ask quietly, feeling my cheeks turn red with embarrassment. Carmilla jumps up with a laugh, holding her hands out for me to take. She pulls me to might feet and wraps her arms around me, giving me a tight hug. “You’re the best.”

“You remind me every day.” She says, kissing the top of my head. “Get done so we can go.” She adds, patting me on my butt to get going. After cleaning up a bit and collecting myself, we were on our way to the doctor, we decided to leave early enough to walk there seeing as it was a beautiful day in the city for June. We get into the exam room and wait patiently for Dr. Callis. Well I was patient; Carm was bouncing like a little kid in a candy store.

“Hello Karnstein family.” Dr. Callis chimes as she walks in and takes her seat next to me. “How are you feeling Laura?” She asks as she gets everything set up for the sonogram.

“Good. I mean everything seems to be going by the book for the most part, although Carmilla here continues to deprive me of constant cookie binging.”

“We get to know what we’re having today, right Doc?”

“Yes Carmilla.” Dr. Callis says calmingly. “We could find out a couple things today.” She says, squeezing the sonogram goo on my belly before placing the wand over it. The baby comes on the screen, the usual blurry Doppler-radar looking baby blob. “So, here is the little one.” She says pointing to the screen. “And…” She trails off, pressing a button and the room is then filled with a swooshing sound. “You are indeed having a little girl. Congratulations.” I look over at Carmilla to see her smiling wide, and tears rolling down her cheeks.

“I was right.” She says quietly, looking over at me, her smile doesn’t falter for a second.

“You were right.”

“I will see you in a few weeks.” Dr. Callis says, handing us the sonogram picture and a paper towel for me. “Congratulations. You’re daughter is growing at the perfect rate and seems to be a very overall healthy baby for twenty-weeks.” She says with a smile. “Keep up with your vitamins, increase your water intake if you don’t mind, eat as healthy as possible, blah, blah. Go out and celebrate Carmilla, you’re getting your daughter that you’ve wanted from day one.”

“That I am Doc.” She says with a smile, getting up to shake Dr. Callis’ hand. Dr. Callis walks out of the room and I sit up, pulling my shirt down after cleaning myself.

“You get _one_.” I say, holding up my index finger. “You can say it now or save it for later.” I watch as Carmilla walks over to me, pulling me off the table and kissing me passionately, she pulls away and rests her forehead on mine, my breathing ragged.

“I told you so.” She says with a smirk, kissing me on more time. “I love you.” She adds, kissing my forehead before taking her hand in mine and leading the way out of the doctor office.

“So are we still going to do yellow or?”

“I think we should do a yellow, yeah. Like a pale yellow, something calm. We can go with that owl bedroom set we saw that day; we can always save it for if we have another baby. It’s neutral.”

“Whatever you want Carm, I’m giving you the decorating rights with Sophie’s room seeing as you called it.”.

“Thanks Cupcake.” She says, kissing the side of my head. “Our daughter is going to have the best looking nursery out there.”

 

-Laf POV-

“Jesus Christ, couldn’t you have picked something less yellow?” I complain, looking at the walls of my former room go from a sterile white color to a pale yellow, almost custard-like color.

“I like the color and so does Laura. And I think it’s perfect for little Sophie, so shut your mouth.” Carmilla says as she opens up one of the windows and makes sure all of the drop cloths are where they need to be, seeing as we both are accident prone and don’t want to get paint on anything.

“So, did you almost faint when you were told you were right?”

“Almost, but I think I was in shock to really register fainting.” She says with a shrug, opening a can of paint and pouring it into the roller pan. “But you have no idea how excited I am, Laf. Like genuinely excited.”

“Why wouldn’t you be? You’re wife is having a kid, I’d be excited too.”

“Yeah I know, but you know me. I really thought that this opportunity was never going to happen, especially after Ell. I didn’t think I was ever going to love anyone ever again.”

“Well, it seems like Laura was your real missing piece. Ell was a snob and didn’t really care about you as much as she cared about where you were going to end up. She saw your ambition to do great and achieve greatness and become a teacher or whatever, she didn’t care that you were doing it. She cared about being a power couple.”

“Yeah I can see why you’d think that. Laura is the exact opposite, she wants everything to turn out great for the two of us, she wants us to be on the same wavelength and I love that about her. She still amazes me. I mean we’ve been together for nearly and year and a half, and married for three months. For me to know right away that I was going to end up staying with Laura for the rest of my life, that was the moment I knew I grew up.” Carmilla explains. “We even spoke about moving out of the city one day, if we decide to have more kids.”

“Carmilla Karnstein, lover of NYC moving to the suburbs? Laura must have some kind of magic power to make something like that even cross your mind.”

“I love her. Don’t you love Perry like that? Wouldn’t you do anything for her no matter how out of your comfort zone you feel?”

“I – I was actually thinking it was time to take that step with her.”

“You’re going to pop the question?”

“Yeah, I would like to, but I’m kind of nervous. I mean, Perry and I are far from sexual people, we really have a relationship based on genuine human connection, and I wonder if that will run its course, you know? Like what if one day sitting on the couch watching TV isn’t enough?”

“Perry loves you no matter what, she accepts everything about you. There is no reason she wouldn’t want to marry you.”

“I guess you’re right. How did you propose to Laura?” I ask, seeing as I never really got the full story of the actually proposal.

“We were on a hike in Hawaii, we were hiking up a volcano. When we got to a decent area, and were starting to get tired, we sat to rest and have some water and I just felt like that was as good a time as any, seeing as I always had the ring near by on that trip. I wanted it to be spontaneous and catch her off guard, sure enough it did and now here I am, painting the bedroom for my unborn daughter.”

“So I should just do it? Like not put too much thought into it?”

“Pretty much, Perry seems to like simple, that’s the best way to do it.”

“I guess you’re right, I’ll give it some more time and go from there.”

 

-Laura POV-

“Laura, do you think Carmilla is going to like all the pink?” Perry asks as we walk around the clothing department of the baby store, seeing as all I could zero in on was anything pink and pretty, it made it hard to not grab everything in every size I saw.

“She is going to have to deal with it. I mean I’ll find something black to make her happy, but I might have to go to the boys department.” I tease, looking at a cute frilly dress. “No, Carm is in the same boat as I am when it comes to something like this.” I say as I throw something else into the cart. “She knows that bright colors are a things, she’s just against smiling bugs and zoo animals.”

“Well seeing as almost everything in this store has a smiling bug and zoo animal, it must be hard for her to be satisfied in a purchase.” Perry teases.

“Do you think you and Laf will ever tie the knot?” I ask, shuffling through the racks, making sure to get all different sizes. Carmilla and I decided we weren’t going to have a baby shower, something about Carmilla not wanting to be given things we should be providing, I don’t know.

“I mean, I think so. I – I’m not really sure.” Perry says timidly. “I could see myself spending my life with them, I just don’t know is marriage is the right thing right now. But it doesn’t mean I wouldn’t want to.”

“So if they asked you tomorrow you’d hesitate?”

“I’m not entirely too sure they are even thinking about it, but I don’t know if I was asked tomorrow, I may say yes and just let it grow on me, you know?”

“Yeah I understand what you mean.” I say, pulling my phone out of my bag to see Carmilla was calling. “Hey.” I say cheerfully as I answer the phone.

_“You better not be getting anything with a smiling animal on it.”_

“Everything has an animal on it, this whole cart is overflowing with smiling animals.” I tease. “How is painting?”

_“It’s going. We’re just going to have to put a second coat. Gammy sent us a box; I’m waiting for you to come home to open it. It may be clothes for Sophie. If there is anything smiling animal in this box, I’m burning it.”_

“Don’t be so grumpy, you know Gammy is going to want pictures. Can you go through the box now, see if there are any pacifiers and burp rags, things like that, I don’t want to buy more than I have to.”

 _“There is a lot of purple and pink.”_ Carm says after I hear her struggling with the box. _“Awe this is actually cute, and it has a smiling bug on the butt, Brainiac look. Okay, task at hand, pacifiers and burp rags. Awe this little hat is so cute; it has little bear ears on top of it. Okay, maybe animal things aren’t that bad. Okay, so burp rags are a yes, and pacifiers are a yes, but there is only a two pack, so pick up more of them. And there are like two packages of five burp rag things.”_

“So smiling animals are a go?”

_“Not entirely, but what Gammy sent is good enough. She also threw in, this is a big box by the way, she sent some diapers too, but we know we are going to need a lot more. Oh Lilita called, she wants to take us shopping, she said that even though we aren’t having a formal baby shower she feels like she should contribute to her granddaughter.”_

“I can practically hear your eyes rolling, she’s trying to be nice, we all know Will and Mattie aren’t having kids any time soon, so I wouldn’t be surprised if she wanted to be apart of Sophie’s life, you have to give her the benefit of the doubt.” I say, tossing a box of diapers in the cart.

_“I know, I know. When are you coming home?”_

“I’ll be home in another hour, it gives you time to finish.” I say, looking at my watch to see the time.

_“Okay. Well I’ll let you get back to shopping and I’ll see you in a little while. I love you.”_

“I love you too.” I say with a smile before hanging up. “They’re almost done with the room.”

 

-Carmilla POV-

“Alright.” I say, putting my phone in my back pocket. “Let’s finish this room, get everything in order and put the sheets on the bed, and all the other stuff together. That mobile thing I don’t get but we need it on the crib.”

“I don’t even have kids, know nothing about what it means to have kids and even I know that a mobile gets screwed into the head of the crib above where you’re laying the baby.” Laf says, shaking their head.

“I don’t have time for your sass.”

“We have to finish painting first.”

“Laura won’t know the difference, besides I bough that paint that covers in one coat, I just said that to keep her out of the house a while longer to get the room together.”

“Oh-kay.” They say, raising their eyebrows. After about an hour of putting the finishing touches on the room, Laura and Perry were walking through the door as Laf and I sat on the couch watching TV.

“Hey you.” Laura says, walking behind the couch and kissing me. “You taste like beer.” She whispers, kissing me again.

“I just had one, that’s why.”

“I haven’t had a drink in months, don’t mind me.”

“I never mind you.”

“You two make me want to throw up. Are you ready to go Per, I have some work to get done before Monday.”

“Yeah let’s go. I have a few things to do too.” Perry says with a smile, taking Laf’s hand in her own. “We’ll see you guys later.” Perry adds before walking out the door with Laf.

“So did you have fun shopping?” I ask, watching Laura walk around the couch, two giant bags in her hands.

“They aren’t heavy so don’t worry. The heaviest thing was the bag with the diapers and Perry took care of that.”

“You want to see the nursery?”

“Only you could make that statement suggestive.” Laura says, shoving my shoulder. “But yes, I want to see it.” She adds standing up. She begins to walk towards the room, she reaches for the doorknob before I stand up behind her and place my hands over her eyes.

“I want it to be a surprise.”

“Again, only you could make this suggestive.”

“Keep those eyes closed.” I say, opening the door. “No looking.” I say, waking my hands away from her eyes. “Okay, you can open.” I say, standing in the middle of the room as Laura looked around in awe. The room itself was a creamy pale yellow that went nicely with the grey owls that decorated the walls and bedspread and bumper on the crib. Around the room there we mostly grey accents, along with white and yellow of course, but then there were also different pops of pinks and purples.

“You guys did such a good job.” She says, walking around the room, letting her hand float over the changing-table mat, and the stuffed owl that sat in the corner of it. Walking over to the crib and looking down to see the owl sheets and little army of stuffed animals that began to form at the foot of the crib, everything from teddy bears, to stuffed cats, to owls. Laura’s hands eventually fall to her belly as she looks down and smiles sadly.

“What’s wrong?”

“I just want to be a good mother. I have this constant fear that I won’t be one.”

“Do you think that isn’t something that scares me too?”

“You seem so confident.”

“Because it’s easier to seem confident than it is to see scared shitless.” I say, taking her hands in mine. “But I know that this is something I _want_ to do with you. I _want_ to raise this baby with you, I _want_ to have a family with you.”

“I – I don’t know.” She whispers, pulling her hands out of mine.

“What don’t you know Cupcake?”

“Maybe, this wasn’t ideal for right now, maybe, I don’t know.”

“What has you saying this? What happened? You were so happy twenty minutes ago, you just bought all of that stuff today for her and now what?”

“I just, I want my mom and dad.” She cries, burying her face in my chest. “I miss my family, I miss not being around them. I wish I were closer to them through all of this. I mean, the only way our baby is going to see her family is through a computer or cell phone screen. The only way my dad is going to see his granddaughter is through a screen; he won’t be able to hold her or see her physically. It’s just hard to think about. You know how family oriented I am, I just hate the thought of him missing everything physically, and I especially hate my mom not being here to see _any_ of this whatsoever.”

“Laura, look at me.” I say, taking her face in my hands. “Everything is going to be okay, I tell you this all the time. There is nothing to worry about. Your family will be a major part of our baby’s life, they won’t miss a second, and I’m pretty sure your dad will be here in a heartbeat any chance he gets. We both know he’s going to be here the minute Sophie is born until we have to force him out of the house. I don’t like you getting this upset over something that we have control over. It’s not like we’re on different planets.”

“It has the tendency to feel that way.”

“Well I don’t want you to feel this way anymore, okay?” I ask, kissing her cheek. “I want you to be as happy as possible and try to not let the little things get in the way. You love the city; you love your job, your friends and co-workers. You have built a life here, back home in Silas you don’t have the same things you do here, I mean your family is one thing, but overall you don’t have the same things you do here. New York is your home for almost two years now. Just think, if you would have stayed in Silas, odds are you would have never met me, you would have never gotten married to me, and you would never be expecting your first child.”

“You’re right.”

“Of course I’m right.”


	15. Chapter 15

-Carmilla POV-

I’m sitting on my side of the bed with my laptop, working on getting grades posted for the online summer course I was teaching when all of a sudden a box gets dropped into my lap. “What’s this?”

“It’s a present.”

“I can see that. What’s it for?”

“You always get me something unexpected, so I thought it would be fun to get you something unexpected.” She says, walking over to her side of the bed and sitting cross-legged beside me. I pull back the paper and look down at the book in my lap.

“This is my book. When did this happen?” I ask, looking at Laura who had a smirk on her face.

“Well, when I was at work today, Elsie caught me on the way out and handed this to me, she said to give it to you when I got home and that there were a few boxes of them at her apartment. So you’re published. It’s official now.”

“And just in time for the fall semester. Now I can be the pretentious professor that makes their students read a book they wrote.”

“Regardless, you are still a very good teacher.” She says as she plays with my hair and kisses the side of my head.

“How’s my baby?” I ask, placing my hand on Laura’s belly. “She’s moving a lot, you happy in there Sophie? You ready to come into the world little one? Only three more months and then you get to drive us crazy.”

“Drive you crazy maybe. You know that bet we made still stands right?”

“Of course I know that.”

“Just checking.” She says before kissing me softly. “So what’s on the agenda for today?”

“Grading the papers and tests of over-achieving students who decided they wanted to take a summer course.” I say with a sigh. “I feel like my eyes are going to get crossed soon.”

“Care to take a break?”

“Maybe, why?” I ask, taking my glasses off and rubbing my eyes.

“I want to take a walk around the park.”

“You can barely walk around the apartment.”

“Well I don’t want to be in this apartment all day. I hate the city, I love my job, but I hate the living situation.”

“Want to move?”

“We can’t afford to do that right now, and we finally got everything for Sophie together…”

“You are aware that I _own_ this apartment, and I can afford to _own_ a house somewhere too.”

“Yeah, but I don’t want you to do that for us right now.”

“If I want to provide for my family, it shouldn’t be a big deal.” I say a little harsher than I intended.

“Well I want to have my baby here and I’ll just deal with not being able to walk out onto my porch.”

“Laura, come on.” I say, getting out of bed and following her through the apartment.

“Being pregnant in a city sucks! It’s all smoggy, you have to walk everywhere you want to go, and it’s loud. I want to find a house as soon as it’s convenient for us!” She shouts.

“Okay, okay.” I say putting my hands up in surrender. “Whenever you’re ready after Sophie is born we’ll look.”

“I’m sorry Carm, I don’t mean to be so grumpy.”

“It’s okay. You put up with me being grumpy all the time, so there is no reason I can’t put up with you.” I say, kissing the top of her head. “But how about we look for houses with porches and yards soon?”

“Okay.”

“You want a cookie?” I ask, laughing when Laura’s head flies off of my chest and looks at me with a grin. “You’re seven.” I tease, kissing her quickly before letting her go and watching her nearly waddle into the kitchen.

“And you’re mean.”

“I suppose.” I say with a shrug. “I have to run to the store quick.”

“I want to come!”

“Stay here Sweetheart, you can watch Harry Potter and eat cookies while I’m gone.”

“Okay. Have fun.”

“Do you need anything?”

“Cocoa butter, I ran out.” She mumbles as she manages to shove cookies in her mouth and put a Harry Potter DVD in the player at the same time.

“Okay, don’t have too much fun.” 

“Love you!”

* * *

“Long time no see.” A voice chimes behind me as I’m bent over looking for the brand of cocoa butter Laura likes; apparently they all smell different even though it’s the same fucking product. I jump slightly and turn to see Ell standing behind me with a smile.

“Hey, how are you?”

“I’m good. Working and all, how about you?”

“Working, I got my teaching position at Columbia, I’ve been there for almost a year now so.”

“How’s Laura?”

“She’s about six months pregnant.” I say proudly.

“Wow, really? Never pinned you to be a mother.”

“Yeah well, I could say the same about you. Laura ad I wanted to have a child and we’re quite excited about it.”

“Good for you. Nice to see you getting all domestic and whatnot.”

“It was going to happen sooner or later.”

“Oh, really? You domestic, I wouldn’t have seen it happen in a million years.”

“Evidently I just needed to find the right person to make the decision feel right.” I explain, crossing my arms over my chest.

“Oh right because I wouldn’t have been a good mother and wife.” She says annoyed, shaking her head at me.

“Like you really wanted to be a mother and a wife for that matter. You know what Ell, we would have never lasted I know that for a fact, you’re just such a career driven ass hole it isn’t even funny.”

“And you’re just an ass hole Carmilla.”

“Oh please, everyone in the tri-state area knows that _I’m_ an ass hole, this isn’t news.” I say. “Look, I have to go my wife needs me to get home, tell my dad I said hello.”

“You always were good at running!”

“That’s fresh coming from the woman that cheated on her fiancée with some whore!” I call back, making a point of flipping her off.

“Are you ever going to let that go? It was years ago, you’re married now, have a kid on the way. Why are you so hung up on the fact that I cheated on you?” She asks, catching up to me and grabbing my wrist to spin me around.

“Because I loved you. You really want to have this discussion now in the middle of a drugstore, fine. I loved you Ell, and you fucked me over. You knew the type of person I was and you still fucked me over. You were so happy the day I proposed to you and yet you were disappointed that the ring wasn’t big enough, or the fact that I proposed to you when you woke up rather than making in a grand gesture. No matter what I did or how I did it, if it wasn’t up to your standard you made it show. You practically always took Lilita’s side in everything against me. You always made me feel like shit for the fact that I was studying philosophy rather than being a lawyer or a doctor. You were such a shitty person, and yet you always seemed to make that fade away when we were alone, but as soon as Laf came home or one of your roommates, you reverted right back into being a bitch, you were never fair. And for person like myself, someone who was so insecure on a regular basis, it made every little thing that I did seem as though it was never good enough.” I explain, looking at her blank expression when all of a sudden she surges forward and kisses me. It took me a moment to register what was happening before I shoved her away and watch her nearly crash into a cough-drop display. I immediately start wiping my mouth with the back of my hand. Out of the corner of my eye I see a familiar quaff of ginger hair, I look over to see Laf looking at the situation taking place like a deer caught in the headlights.

“What are you going to do about this one?” They ask.

“You are going to say nothing. I am going to say nothing.” I say, before turning to Ell. “And you are especially going to say nothing and you are going to stay as far away from me, Laura, and even my dad, as possible. If I tell him what just happened, you will be out of a job so quick it will make your head spin. You know that my father knows a lot of people, so your head will remain spinning while you try to look for a job around here.” I threaten, watching as her eyes went wide.

“This didn’t happen.” Laf says with a nod, and looking over at Ell who nodded in agreement.

“Okay, so Laf I’ll see you soon, and Ell I’ll see you never.” I say as I walk to checkout. After paying for the items, as soon as I got outside I reached into the depths of my bag to retrieve a pack of cigarettes, seeing as I didn’t smoke nearly as much as I used to, these were for emergencies only. I pull one from the pack and light it; inhaling the chemicals and feeling them race into my lungs. “Hey!” I call out when I see Ell leaving. “What the fuck was that for?”

“I miss you.”

“Well you aren’t allowed to miss me.”

“Why not?”

“Because you left me, you’re not allowed to miss me because this is your fault.”

“Fine.” She says, holding up her hands. “Whatever.” She scoffs turning on her heels and walking away. After taking a deep breath, I make my way back home the decision to walk being a good one for the fact that it helped me calm down. I walk through the door to find Laura asleep in the couch, a package of cookies on her belly and crumbs on her chest. I couldn’t help but laugh and take a quick picture on my phone.

“You smell like the inside of a dirty old man bar.” She grumbles in her sleep before opening her eyes. “Did you smoke?”

“I had a couple on the way home, I’m sorry.” I say, walking towards the bathroom to brush my teeth.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?”

“Did something happen at the store?”

“Nothing happened, I was stressed out cause I almost couldn’t find the right cocoa butter that you like.”

“That wouldn’t drive you to smoke cigarettes because it’s happened before and you never came home smelling so gross.”

“I saw Ell.” I say, spitting into the sink and rinsing my mouth quick. “Okay, that’s I’m stressed out. She stresses me out.”

“Why?” Laura asks, a confused look on her face. “She hasn’t been in your life for a long time now, there is no reason to be stressed out by her.”

“Yeah well, she fucked me over for so long, it still hurts.” I state, storming past Laura.

“How the hell could it _still_ hurt?”

“Because it does, look you don’t understand. You don’t get it.”

“Let me get it then. Let me understand.” Laura says, stopping in the middle of the living room. “Do you still have feelings for her?”

“No.”

“No what?”

“No to it all, you don’t need to understand and I don’t love her.”

“That doesn’t seem remotely convincing but okay.” Laura scoffs, walking over to the couch.

“Who are you to tell me that?” I ask, feeling the anger boil inside me.

“Your _wife_. Or did you forget that we were married?”

“What the fuck bit your ass today?”

“You fucking kissed her! You kissed her in the drugstore Perry saw you, and Laf saw you. Do you really think they wouldn’t tell me?”

“Okay, you’re blowing this out of proportion. She kissed me!” I say, walking over to sit on the coffee table in front of her. “I told her to knock off her shit every time she sees me, I got mad and then she kissed me out of nowhere. I would never do something like that to you. Which one did you hear that from anyway?”

“Perry texted me.”

“Well did Perry also tell you that the second it happened I shoved Perry into a cough-drop display?”

“No.”

“Well I did. Knocked the thing right on the floor.” I say, watching Laura smile a bit. “Look at me.” I say, reaching out to take her chin and tilt it up for a moment to look at me. “I love you, only you. I love our baby. There is nothing anyone will do that won’t make me love you any less. You are the only person in this whole world for me.” I say, leaning in to kiss her softly.

“You must have done something to make her kiss you.” She says quietly, getting up from the couch, storming towards the bedroom and slamming the door in the process.

“Just leave her alone, you know she attacks you even if you don’t wash the dishes right.” I say to myself, pinching the bridge of my nose.

“I’m sorry for yelling at you. And for getting upset with you.”

“You have every right to be upset, but you have to know that something like that I would never do to you. I love you and that’s all that matters.”

“I love you too.” She says, walking over to me and resting her head on my shoulder.

 

-Laura POV-

It’s been a couple of months since the whole Ell incident. It took me a little time to get over the fact that it was indeed an accident and not intentional on Carmilla’s part. Seeing as I was so close to my due date and the doctor said I had to start taking it easy, I was currently working from home and was not permitted to leave this god forsaken apartment. The thrill of living in a bit city has worn off a long time ago, that is certain, but I also know that Carmilla loves it here to the point where if I forced her to move to the suburbs it may not be as easy as she thinks it will be. So we are waiting until Sophie is born and old enough to really look into buying something bigger. So here I am at the moment, sitting at a desk writing an article that’s due in a couple of days with Søren sitting beside my laptop looking at me as I chew on a pencil and type away at my keyboard. Seeing as Carmilla has gone back to work and teaches a couple of extra courses this semester, Søren has been my right hand man most of the time. Carmilla would be gone from eight in the morning to about six a night. Today, thankfully, she was going to come home early.

“Hey Cupcake.” She says, walking through the door with a bag of take out in her hands.

“Hey.”

“Sweetie, if you keep typing like that you’re going to need a new keyboard.” She says, walking up to me, kissing me on the head and continuing into the kitchen.

“I’m almost done, then I have to email it to Elsie to edit.” I say as I take the pencil from my mouth and putting it in the cup next to the other chewed up pencils.

“Okay, well get done because I’m starving and I’m not waiting for you.”

“Uh, Carm?”

“Yeah?”

“My water broke…”

“What?”

“Water. Broke. We have to go to the hospital like now.” I say, standing up from the desk chair. “Grab a towel please.” I say, watching Carmilla run into the bathroom and tossing me a towel to put on the chair.

“Okay, we have to go like now.”

“No, really. I thought I’d have my daughter in the middle of our living room.”

“Don’t sass me.” She says, pulling her phone out of her pocket. “Hey, yeah it’s happening now. Yeah like right now. We’re leaving now. I’m calling one right when I get off the phone with you. Okay, yeah meet us up there. Bye.” She says before making another call. After the fairly short ride in the ambulance up the road to the hospital we were settled in a room and told to wait until Dr. Callis showed up. After a half hour Dr. Callis came walking through the door.

“You’re a tad early.” She says, sitting at the foot of my bed and examining me. “You don’t seem to be dilated enough just yet. But you’re almost there.” She says, standing up. “Just remember, there are drugs to help with the pain that won’t hurt the baby when the time comes, some women don’t want to use them thinking something will happen. Everything will be okay, and it will make things less stressful for you and your child.” She adds with a smile, taking her gloves off and patting my leg.

“Thank you Dr. Callis.” I say watching her walk out of the room. “You look nervous.” I say, looking over at Carmilla.

“A little. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous.”

“Everything will be okay. We’re going to have little Sophie in our arms soon enough.” I say, kissing the back on her hand.

“I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

 

-Carmilla POV-

“Carm.” Laura whines, startling me from my sleep.

“What’s wrong?”

“It hurts.” She whimpers. I push the button to call the nurses station and one comes running in shortly after.

“Okay, Laura, ready to get this show on the road?” Dr. Callis asks as she walks through the door before Laura is rushed to the delivery room. No more then twenty minutes later, after Laura cries out in pain, the soft cries of a baby fill the room. I couldn’t stop the tears from flowing, I looked at my daughter and she was more beautiful than I ever could have imagined, even when she was covered in amniotic goo.

“Hello Sophie.” I say quietly, once the nurse handed her over to Laura after getting cleaned and weighed. “Welcome to the world little on.” I add, placing my hand over Laura’s on Sophie’s belly. “She looks like you.” I whisper in Laura’s ear before kissing the side of her head.

“She oddly looks like you too.” Laura whispers, looking over at me with a smile, seeing as Sophie already had a devious smirk on her face. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” I say, leaning in to kiss her. After Laura was settled back in her room, and Sophie was brought into us, I didn’t let her go. I held her from the moment she was in the room. “Hello there, you are bigger than I thought you were going to be. You look just like Mommy.” I say, running my finger lightly over the features of her face as Laura slept. Then I hear a quiet knock at the door. I look up to see Sherman standing in the doorway with a big smile, he walks in and Sadie trails behind him.

“She looks like Laura when she was born.” He says quietly, looking at the sleeping child in my arms. “Can I hold her? I know that you don’t want to let her go…” He trails off, smiling when I hand Sophie to him carefully.

“Hey there, I’m grandpa, and this is Gammy.” He says, smiling at Sadie as he shows her Sophie. “She’s a beautiful baby.”

“Thank you.”

“Hi Daddy.” Laura says quietly from her bed. “You called him?”

“I called him before we left last night.” I say, walking over to Laura and sitting in the chair beside her bed, leaning over to kiss her.

“Thank you.” She whispers as she sits up a bit, placing the boppy pillow on her lap. “Okay dad, give me my kid.” She says, holding her arms out for Sophie. Sherman walks over and gives Sophie to Laura. Laura hold Sophie’s head as she places her on the pillow, making sure the pillow supported Sophie’s head as she faced Laura.

“Why don’t we take a picture of the happy family?” Sherman says, taking his phone out of his pocket. Laura scoots over on the bed and makes room for me to sit beside her before she takes Sophie back into her arms; I wrap my arm around Laura’s waist. Laura and I first look at each other and smile, and then we look up at Sherman for he can take the picture. “Good. Thank you girls.”

“You’re daughter is beautiful Laura.” Sadie says with a smile, pulling out a small knit hat with a purple flower on the front of it. “May I?” She asks, looking at Laura. Laura smiles and nods, taking the hat already on Sophie’s head off, and letting Sadie put the other hat on. Sophie was born with a full head of honey blonde hair, which was peaking out from under the hat.

“She looks like you when you were born.” Sherman says with a proud smile.

“Yeah well, at least she doesn’t look like a mandrake root like Carmilla did.”

“She would have been beautiful either way.” I say, kissing Sophie softly on her forehead.


	16. Chapter 16

-Laura POV-

“Hello Sophie, you are the cutest baby in the world.” I coo, as I lay her on the changing table to change her diaper. “I have no idea how you could poop so much, all you eat is breast milk.” I say in a singsong tone. “It’s okay though, I don’t want to think about you eating baby food or real food then you’d be growing up too fast. I know mama and I don’t want that. We don’t want you to grow up too fast at all.” I coo, finishing up with changing her diaper. Carmilla and I were able to bring Sophie home after spending three days in the hospital, that was a couple of days ago. Carmilla couldn’t really take too much time off, but she was working around it by the assignments she was giving the students. Today was one of the days where Carmilla wasn’t around. No one was really, not that I really wanted anybody but my wife around. It was nice to be alone with Sophie, all I had to do was feed her, hold her and change her. There wasn’t much to it with a baby that wasn’t even a week old. There was something therapeutic about a baby falling asleep curled up on a ball on your chest. “All done.” I coo, picking Sophie up and cradling her in my arms. “Oh you’re home.”

“Yeah, it’s late Sweetie.” She says, walking up to kiss me on the cheek, and Sophie on the forehead. “Everything okay?”

“Everything is perfect actually.” I chime, leaning against the doorframe and watching her change.

“How was little girl?” She asks, walking past me and into the bathroom to wash her hands and face. Carmilla became an epic germ freak since I got pregnant, she has a routine when it comes to coming home from work, she changes her clothes and then thoroughly washed her hands before even coming near me sometimes. Today was obviously a bit different, but still the same nonetheless.

“She’s doing good.”

“Does she still have a little trouble feeding?”

“She got the hang of it today, there wasn’t an issue.” I explain, walking into the living room and sitting on the couch. Watching Søren jump up in the coffee table looking at me. Ever since we came home, he has been curious of the sleeping baby in our arms all the time, but he never gained the courage to come any closer to Sophie than a foot.

“Good.” Carm says with a smile, sitting on the couch beside me and putting her feet up on the coffee table. “I missed my girls today.” She chimes, looking at me with a smile and kissing my forehead.

“We missed you too.” I say, leaning in to kiss Carmilla properly. “How was work?” I ask, resting my head on her shoulder when she wraps her arm around me.

“I think they’re finally starting to get it in my 101 class, the other classes are going great because they all are seasoned and ready to learn, they aren’t forced into the major so they know what they want to learn, you know? They remind me of me when I was in those seats.”

“That’s good to hear.” I say with a smile, looking down at Sophie.

“I can’t wait for her to be a little less delicate and a little more engaged.” Carm chimes, looking down at Sophie. “But I know to enjoy this while it lasts.”

“Just wait until we’re chasing after her, then you’ll wish this time lasted longer.”

“I feel bad for Søren here. He’s going to be tortured by Soph.” Carmilla says, scratching Søren behind his ears.

“Typical kid torturing pet scenario, I can’t wait.” I joke, laughing a bit and causing Sophie to whine a little bit.

“Oh Soph, did Mommy wake you up?” Carmilla coos, taking Sophie from my arms.

“I think she’s ready to eat again, it’s been a while.” I say, grabbing the boppy from the basket beside the couch and readjusting my shirt. “Okay, give her back.” I say, holding my arms out for Sophie. Carmilla give her back to me, her eyes not leaving my chest. “Carm, those are to feed our child, not you.” I say, as I make sure Sophie was suckling properly.

“Sorry Cupcake, you know I can’t resist your boobs. What do you want for dinner?”

“Cookies.” I say with a grin. “I’m kidding, I think there’s leftover something in there from yesterday, just heat that up.”

“Leftover Chinese it is.” Carm announces walking into the kitchen. “It’s funny how I still eat like a broke college kid.” She says from the kitchen.

“All I lived on in school was cookies and grape soda. Leftover Chinese is actual food compared to that.”

“Babe, you’d still eat like that if I allowed it.”

“Yeah well.” I say, watching her walk back into the room, two bowls in one hand, a beer and a can of grape soda in the other.

“This is a treat.”

“Oh how nice of you.” I say sarcastically. “Can we talk grown-up talk for a minute?” I say, handing Sophie to Carm to get burped while I pull my shirt back down.

“Hear that Sophie, mommy wants to have grown-up talk.” Carmilla says to Sophie as she holds her up to her shoulder. “If this is about what I think it’s about, we can wait a couple of more months before we start looking. After the winter okay?”

“Okay. Part two to the question, are we going to your parents’ for Thanksgiving?”

“Yes, I already let my dad know, he’s excited to meet Sophie and so is everyone else.” She says, kissing Sophie on the side of her head. “Are you ready to meet nana and poppy?” She whispers in Sophie’s little ear. “They can be a handful, well nana can be.” She teases as she walks over and puts Sophie in her swing.

“I think your parents are going to be excited to meet her.”

“My dad is for sure, he texted me telling me how he couldn’t wait any longer.” Carm says, sitting down beside me. “He said Lilita was excited to meet Sophie too, but at the same time, her motives are something that I don’t really know.” She says, looking down at her bowl of food.

“I’m sure everything will be fine.”

 

-Carmilla POV-

Today was the first day we took Sophie out into the world since she’s been home, seeing as the weather was starting to get cold, there was no real reason for her to be out. Laura and I made sure to keep Sophie bundled up, even made sure to keep her car seat covered, even though we didn’t have a car at the moment, it was the best thing to have, seeing as we got the fancy one that hooked into the stroller thing, very high-tech. Either way Sophie was covered and bundled like she was going to hike across Northern Russia in the winter, like Omar Sharif in _Doctor Zhivago_. After a short subway ride and walk, we were walking up the steps to my parents’ house.

“Are you going to knock or just go in?” Laura asks, pulling the diaper bag up onto her shoulder more.

“Open the door, I have Soph. Hello!” I call out, only to hear footsteps fast approaching.

“Hello, Happy Thanksgiving.” My dad says giving Laura and I a hug. “You can put all of your stuff in the back room down here, don’t need to have you going up and down stairs.” He says, taking the diaper bag from Laura, I take the car seat out of the stroller and fold up the stroller, leaving it against the door in the foyer. I take Sophie into the kitchen where everyone was, I place her car seat on the floor before finally taking her out of her regalia, to show off her little dress she had on, her thick white stockings and a ‘Baby’s 1st Thanksgiving’ bib as well as a black knit hat to keep her fairly warm. My dad then takes everything and puts it all in the small room off of the kitchen.

“Hello Dears, Happy Thanksgiving.” Lilita says from in front of the stove, she turns and wipes her hands in the rag over her shoulder before looking at Sophie and cooing. “Oh my, she is one beautiful baby.” She says, walking over to me and looking at Sophie in my arms.

“Thank you Mother.”

“I can’t wait to hold her later.” She says, kissing Sophie on the top of her head. Lilita then turns on her heels and walks over to me, giving me a hug. I stand there rigged for a moment, shocked as to what to do. “Congratulations Carmilla.” She says in my ear, pulling back and looking at me with a sad smile. “I would like to have a word with you before you go home later.” She says quietly before going back to cooking. After a little bit of socializing amongst my family and some of my parents’ colleagues, and a large amount of showing off Sophie, seeing as people have some kind of obsession with babies, Laura and I snuck off to the back room so Sophie could get fed and changed seeing as she was beginning to get fussy.

“She wants to have a word with me before we leave.” I say, once I close the door to the room. “What the hell could that mean?” I ask, pacing back and forth as Laura sat on the couch and began to nurse Sophie.

“Maybe it means exactly how it sounds, she just wants to talk to you.”

“Okay, but what could she possibly have to talk about?”

“Maybe she wants to apologize for being the way she’s been all these years.”

“She doesn’t even know what an apology is! I doubt that’s the case. I just don’t want her saying something that is going to be a waste of time.” I say, putting a burp rag on my shoulder and taking Sophie from Laura.

“Whatever happens, just try to be nice and patient, you don’t need to get yourself in trouble jumping to conclusions.” Laura says, shuffling through the diaper bag.

“I’ll try Cupcake.” I say, bouncing Sophie a bit and patting her back until I hear her burp. “You, my child, are such a pig.” I chime with a smile, kissing the side of her head. “You’re lucky I can see passed that small detail and continue to love you just the same.” I say, cradling her in my arms and looking down at her. “I can’t get over how much you look like your mommy.” I coo, looking down at the little being in my arms, smiling when Sophie looks up at me and smirks slightly. “But you do have the same smirk as me.” I tease, kissing my daughter on her forehead. “I love you Cupcake.”

“Oh, now Sophie is your cupcake? I see how it is.”

“You’ll always be my cupcake, but now I have another cupcake.” I say, walking over to Laura and leaning down to kiss her before kneeling in front of the couch and putting Sophie on her blanket to change her diaper.

“Would you rather have another daughter or a son next?”

“I don’t know. I think a boy, but that won’t be for a while right?”

“A long while, don’t worry.” She says, kissing me softly. “I want to get this little one off to, at least, preschool.” She says. “And when we have our nice house in the suburbs.”

“Sweetheart, we will get to that stage as soon as possible.” I say, fixing Sophie’s outfit before picking her up again. “Do you want to leave her in here to sleep for a little bit? My dad set up the bassinet thing for her.”

“Okay, leave the door open though.” Laura says as I place Sophie in the bassinet.

“She’ll be okay for a little bit.” I say, walking over to place my hands on Laura’s waist and pull her into me. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“Carmilla, we’re ready to eat.” My dad says, knocking on the door lightly before opening in and peeking inside. After eating everything in sight, quite literally I might add, I was sat on the couch next to Laura with Sophie on my chest watching football with my family. After being passed around between my aunts, uncles, cousins, parents, brother and sister, Sophie didn’t want to be held my anyone else anymore, any time Lilita or my dad went to take her from Laura or me, she would start wailing.

“Carm?”

“Yes Cupcake?”

“When do you want to start going?” She asks, placing her hand on Sophie’s back when she opened her eyes and looked at Laura. “Hello my special girl.” She coos quietly, causing Sophie to smile softly. “Are you Mommy’s girl?” She chimes, getting another smile out of Sophie. “Mommy loves you.” Laura says, kissing Sophie on her cheek.

“You want to take her? I should go see what Lilita wants to discuss then we’ll go.” I say, sitting up at bit and handing Sophie to Laura. I get up and walk into the kitchen to find Lilita talking with Mattie and a few of my aunts.

“Hello Carmilla.”

“Hello, you wanted to have a word, Laura and I want to start getting ready to go and I didn’t want to forget to mention that you wanted to speak to me.” I say, watching her carefully. She gets up from her chair and gestures for me to follow her. I follow her up the narrow staircase and into my father’s office; she closes the door behind us.

“I would like to apologize for the way I treated you throughout the years, it wasn’t right of me. It wasn’t something I should have done to you, as a mother figure, I should have been more caring and protective of you. I am deeply sorry for how things happened between us, the animosity between us is something I would like to get over moving forward, for the sake of your wife and daughter, I would like for us to be a family. Regardless Laura is my daughter-in-law, and Sophie is my granddaughter, and I can tell you right now, she is my first grandchild, as well as your father’s as we love that baby more than anything in the whole world. And seeing as you are the first of our children to settle down and get married as well as have a child, I was able to really change my impression of you. I was able to see past everything that happened and everything I though was wrong of you. I’m willing to make a fresh start if you are.” Lilita says, looking at me with a sad smile.

“You did hurt me, Lilita. That is something that I don’t think I will ever truly get over. For the sake of my daughter, I am willing to give this new leaf a chance; I don’t want my daughter to have a life without a family. But at the same time, I don’t want you to hurt my family, I don’t want you to hurt me anymore with your comments and your snide remarks.” I say, crossing my arms over my chest. “My life choices have always been mine to make, there was never a reason for you to be the type of person you were. And if you’re serious about changing, then I just want you to know this, the moment you say something that makes you seem like you went back to your old ways, you will never see my daughter. You will never hold her, care for you, or speak to her. You will never see her grow up; you will never see her at holidays or birthdays. You will be no one to her. Do you understand me?”

“Yes, I understand, and I have nothing to say about why you feel this way, I completely understand your motives and I promise you I will not go back to being that person. I truly am sorry Carmilla.” She adds, looking down at her feet.

“I believe you won’t let something like that happen again, but like I said, the moment it does you will never see her.”

“I promise.” She says, looking up at me sadly as I step closer and wrap my arms around her giving her a hug.

 

-Laura POV-

“You are the prettiest baby in the entire world. I know this isn’t really possible but you look like mama too you know, you don’t just look like me.” I say as I change Sophie’s clothes and get her comfortable for bed. Once we got home from Carmilla’s parents’, she seemed to avoid talking at all costs; the only time she spoke was when Sophie would wine on the way home. “I love you sweetheart.” I say, leaning down to kiss Sophie on the cheek. After bouncing her around for no more than five minutes she was out like a light, I walked over to Carmilla and I’s room and placed Sophie on her bassinet before turning off the light and leaving the room. I walk into the living room to see Carmilla grading papers with a beer next to a stack of papers and Søren curled up in a ball next to her. I sit down on the other side of Carmilla. “Hey.”

“Hey.” She says, picking up her beer and talking a sip.

“What happened with Lilita?”

“She apologized for being the way she was.” Carm says, paying attention to the paper she was correcting and grading.

“That’s good.”.

“I also told her the minute she goes back to her old ways she loses the rights to see Sophie.” Carmilla says, taking off her glasses.

“You shouldn’t do that to Sophie though.”

“I don’t want my daughter to be around someone who is insulting.”

“Yeah, but I want my daughter to have both of her grandparents in your side.”

“Okay, but why should our child be around someone as vulgar as she is?” She asks, finishing the rest of her beer.

“You have a point, but at the same time I don’t want Sophie growing up knowing she has a grandmother that she can’t see. It’s bad enough that my mother isn’t around to see her grandchild grow up.”

“Yeah, I have a mother that won’t see that happen either, or do you think Lilita is my mother?”

“Biology is a different story Carm.” I say, regretting the words the second they escape my mouth. “Shit.”

“Did you really just say that?” Carmilla asks, her voice cold. “I can’t believe you just said that.”

“Carm, you know Sophie is just as much yours as she is mine.”

“But she will never be a biological version of me.”

“Biology is only a portion of what makes a family a family, and a parent a parent.”

“No, you had no reason to say that to me. There was no reason to say that she isn’t mine biologically. You know the situation, you know I can’t really have kids without running into a risk and you say that, that’s fucked up Laura.” She says, walking into the guest room and slamming the door causing Sophie to start crying from being shaken up by the loud noise. After getting Sophie back to sleep, I walk over and knock on the door. “I don’t want to talk about this tonight.”

“I didn’t mean to say that. I just feel like our child deserves all the love she can get. It isn’t fair to cut her short because of the differences you share with your stepmother. That isn’t fair to an innocent child.”

“Goodnight Laura.” She says quietly from the other side of the door. For the first time in almost two years, I went to sleep alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter down, and left with somewhat of a cliffhanger... Thanks for reading :)


	17. Chapter 17

-Carmilla POV-

That was the first time in a long time that I slept alone. It was foreign to me; it was something that shouldn’t have been. I’m staring up at the ceiling of our guest bedroom listening to the distant cried of Sophie as Laura tried to calm her. Sophie never liked to be held by Laura first thing in the morning. With a sigh I get out of bed and walk across the way to see Laura making an attempt to feed Sophie, but the little girl wasn’t having any of it, without a word I walk over and take Sophie from Laura, whispering soothing words into her ear she calmed down instantly.

“She isn’t a fan of me in the morning.” Laura says quietly from her place on the bed. “You know how to save the day. I’m sorry for what I said to you last night.”

“I don’t want to talk about it.” I say, taking Sophie into her room to change her. “Hello little one. Mama loves you no matter what. I want you to know that.” I say, kissing her forehead. “No matter what you are still half mine and half Mommy’s.”

“Carm.” Laura says in the doorway, tears running down her cheeks. “I didn’t mean to say what I did, I’m sorry. I love you, and you’re a terrific mother, what I said was wrong and unfair, I never should have said it.”

“Come here.” I say, opening my arm for her, but making sure to keep one hand on Sophie so she wouldn’t fall. I wrap my arm around her as she buries her face in the crook of my neck. “I still love you cupcake, I just don’t want to hear certain things, especially something like that from you.”

“I’m so sorry Carm.”

“I know cupcake, and I do forgive you, just don’t say things like that again.” I say, kissing her head again before finishing up with Sophie. “Feed my kid before she starts crying again.” I tease, handing Sophie to Laura and kissing Laura before she walks over and sits in the rocking chair to feed Sophie.

* * *

“You’re a whole month old today. To think a month just flew by and now you’re getting bigger by the minute.” I say, cradling her in my arms. “Before you know it, I’ll be teaching you to drive.”

“Carm, come on we have to get done.” Laura says, walking into the room with a laundry basket on her hip.

“Tell mommy she can relax, gammy and grandpa don’t come until tomorrow.”

“Yeah, and they’re going to be here for over a week, we decided to host Christmas this year so we wouldn’t have to travel and that means we have to keep this place clean until then.” She says, running around the room only stopping when I stood in front of her. “I have to get done.” She sighs before looking down at Sophie, whose eyes were wide open as she was smiling. “You are the most beautiful baby in the world.” Laura says, kissing Sophie on the cheek.

“Christmas isn’t for another week, I don’t get why they’re even coming so early.”

“My dad has a meeting with a construction company downtown, he’s thinking about getting a job through there.”

“He’s moving to the city when we’re planning to move out? That makes sense.”

“Would you rather be a train ride away, or a flight away?”

“That does make sense.” I say. “Hey look at me for a second.”

“What?”

“I love you.” I say, watching her smile as I lean in to kiss her.

“You remind me every day.”

“Well, if you recall, I vowed to do such a thing. Why don’t you take a break and feed her?”

“Babe, I really need to get done, give her the bottle, I’m trying to get her used to that.”

“If she doesn’t take to it, be ready.” I say, kissing her one more time before walking into the kitchen and getting a bottle ready. “Alright kid, you better drink from this bottle, it’s bad enough when I’m cranky, but we don’t need a cranky mommy too got it.” I say, giving Sophie a pep talk as I walked into her room and sat in the rocking chair to feed her. “Okay, take one.” I say, bringing the bottle to her mouth. “There we go. You’re the best baby a parent could ask for.” I say, happy she took the bottle right away. “I love you so much.”

“Sweetie?” Laura asks, walking into the room. “Oh thank god she’s feeding from the bottle.” She sighs relief when she looks up and sees Sophie. “Who’s coming for Christmas? I just want to know what I should get from the store when I go shopping this weekend.”

“Everyone is coming over, I even think Danny and Kirsch are making an appearance. My whole family, Laf, Perry, Sherman, Sadie… the usual suspects.”

“Okay, just making sure.”

“I want you to calm down sweetie, I know it’s our first family Christmas for the three of us. But I don’t want you going crazy.”

“I’m not going crazy. What should we get Sophie, I know she doesn’t understand what the holiday even is, but I think we should get her something special from the two of us.” Laura says, standing in the middle of the room.

“Why don’t we get her something she can appreciate later on, like a locket or something? Or get her an engraved little jewelry box that has her name and the year of her fist Christmas. Or we could be shitty parents and get her something stupid like pacifiers.”

“I like the locket idea.” Laura says. “We can put her birthdate on it and put a picture of us with her in it.”

“We’ll do that then. I can pick it up after work one day this week.” I say with a smile as Laura walks over and kisses me.

 

-Laura POV-

“Merry Christmas.” Carmilla whispers in my ear as I change Sophie into her red and green onsie for her first Christmas, making her look like a little elf. I look over my shoulder and see Carmilla smiling as she wraps her arms around my waist from behind and leans in to kiss me.

“Merry Christmas.” I whisper against her lips before kissing her again.

“And a very Merry Christmas to you.” Carmilla coos, picking up Sophie from the changing table. “Too bad you won’t really remember this Christmas, but I’m sure there will be a lot of pictures to show you when you’re older.” Carmilla says, kissing Sophie’s forehead.

“Everyone is coming by around noon.” I say, placing my hand on Carmilla’s back and kissing the side of her head.

“Okay Sweetie.” She says, turning to me and smiling. “Sophie looks really adorable by the way.”

“Well of course she would look adorable. She is my kid after all.”

“And there is your mommy being full of herself, Sophie. Hopefully you don’t grow up to be full of yourself like Mommy.”

“You’re a jerk.” I say, elbowing her in the side playfully. “I’m going to go shower and get dressed.” I say, kissing her on the cheek before walking away. After a quick shower and getting dressed in some decent clothes for the first time in what felt like forever, I was sat on the couch feeding Sophie when Laf and Perry walked in.

“Merry Christmas.” Perry chimes and she walks over and kisses me on the cheek. “Oh, Sorry, I didn’t realize you were feeding Sophie.” She says, looking at the thin blanket I had over my chest to cover Sophie, seeing as I was expecting someone to barge through the door any second and didn’t need to give a free show.

“It’s okay. I’ll just take her to her room and get myself together.”

“Everything okay?”

“Laf and Perry are here. I’m gonna lay her down for a little bit.”

“Oh okay. I’ll go say hey.”

“This is it Sophie. Your mama and I have to go be grown ups now and host Christmas.” I say, watching Sophie fight to keep her eyes open. “I’ll see you soon sweetheart.” I say, kissing her on the top of her head.

“Where’s my granddaughter?” I hear my dad call out.

“Merry Christmas to you too Daddy.” I chime walking into the living room.

“Merry Christmas Sweetie.” He says giving me a hug.

“Your granddaughter is napping.” I say, pulling away from him.

“Oh, well better her sleep and be happy than not sleep and be cranky.” He says with a smile as he sits down on the couch. After everyone arrived, it became clear that the apartment wasn’t as big as it seemed to be. I walk into my room after greeting everyone and wasn’t surprised to find Carmilla sitting at the edge of the bed.

“Are you hiding?”

“Remind me why we volunteered again?” She asks, opening her arm for me to sit next to her. I sit down and rest my head on her shoulder as she wraps her arm around me, kissing the side of my head.

“Because it would have been worse to be in a plane with our infant daughter.” I say, taking her other hand in mine, playing with her wedding ring.

“Ah, that’s right. I love you.”

“I thought we agreed.” I say, looking down at the neatly wrapped package.

“Don’t we always agree? Then we end up getting something for the other.” She says, leaning in to kiss me softly. “Merry Christmas Laura.”

“We should just stop agreeing then.” I say, walking out of our room and into Sophie’s, reaching into her closet to get Carmilla’s gift. I go back into our room and hand her the gift. “Merry Christmas Carmilla.” I say, handing her a present and kissing her.

“Same time?”

“Okay.” I say, looking down and ripping off the paper. “We get practical when we get older, don’t we?” I tease, looking at the new messenger bag Carmilla got me, my initials sewn into the front pocket. “Thank you. I love it.” I say, kissing her. She opens up her gift and sees that I got her a new thermos with a picture of Sophie on it.

“Now my students can see that I have the best looking baby in the world.” She says with a grin, leaning in to kiss me. “Thank you cupcake.” She whispers against my lips. “As much as I would love for us to just stay here all night, I think we should go show our faces.” Carmilla says, brushing a bit of hair from my face.

“I think so too. I want to make sure Sophie is okay.” I say as I get up from the bed and walking towards the living room where the sounds of Sophie’s cries are dominating the entire apartment, I turn the corner to see her in my dad’s arms as he tries to calm her down.

“There’s mommy Sophie, here go by Mommy.” He says, walking over and handing her to me.

“Is someone annoyed by all the people like Mama?” I coo, taking Sophie in my arms, the rooms seems to let out as sigh when she stopped crying instantly. “There we go.” I whisper, looking down at her to see her smirking a bit. “You’re just like your Mama.”

“Want me to take her?”

“No, it’s okay.” I say, looking at her and smiling as she leans in to kiss me.

“I think the new family needs their first official Christmas photo.” Sadie chimes, holding up her camera. I look over at Carm and she nods. We walk over to stand in front of the Christmas tree; Carmilla wraps an arm around my waist and looks down at Sophie for a second smiling. I look at Carmilla and smile when I hear the shutter of Sadie’s camera; she seemed to capture every intimate moment within the past minute. “Okay girls, look up and smile.” She says, peeking from behind her camera with a smirk, we do as we’re told and she takes the picture.

“Thank you Sadie.” Carmilla says, taking her camera and looking over the pictures. “I think this one is my favorite.” She says with a smile, showing me the screen. It was just as Carmilla kissed me, right before Sadie told us to smile.

“I think that one is my favorite too.”

“Okay, enough of this lovey parent, wife crap! I’m starving.” Laf announces.

“Okay, I guess let’s eat, make a plate and find a spot.” Carmilla says as everyone walks into the kitchen. “What do you want?”

“Whatever. I know that everything Perry made is going to be good so it doesn’t matter what you give me.” I say with a smile as I set up Sophie to get fed, making sure to put the blanket over her.

“You’re a very good mother Laura.” My dad says with a huge smile. “Your mother would be very, very proud of you.”

“Thank you Dad.” I say with a smile, looking up at him.

“You’re welcome Sweetie.” He says quietly. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

 

-Carmilla POV-

After dinner, Laura and I thought it would be best to put Sophie to bed, seeing as it was getting a little late for her and we wanted to have her get a few good hours in before she was waking us up. Everyone was sat in the living room, ready to open gifts. All the ones for Sophie we kept wrapped until tomorrow, even though she doesn’t fully understand what’s happening, Laura and I felt we should open Sophie’s things with Sophie at least present. Laura and I sat back and watched everyone open their gifts. Laura was in my lap with her head on my chest and my arms wrapped around her.

“This is nice.”

“This is.” I say with a smile, kissing the top of her head.

“Who would have thought we would be domestic?”

“I know what you mean Cupcake, but I wouldn’t change it for the world.”

“Me neither Baby.”

“Okay you two, I’m getting a cavity and it’s your turn to open your gifts.” Perry chimes, handing us a pile.

“Do you want to open them?”

“You can do it.” I say watching her eyes light up like a little kid before she kisses me on the cheek. She starts with the first gift from her dad and Sadie; it was a large framed black and white picture of the three of us when Sophie was just born. Laura looked tired in the picture but she was still smiling at Sophie, it wasn’t the one that Sherman took, seeing as that one was already framed and on the wall in Sophie’s room. “You are a ninja with a camera Sadie.”

“That’s a nice way of putting it. Thank you.”

“Thank you.” Laura says with a smile. The next gift she opened was a gift from my parents. Laura opened the box to reveal two sets of house keys. I look up at him and see him smirk a bit.

“Seeing as your mother and I don’t go up there as much any more, we thought it would be a good idea to give you and Laura the house upstate. That way you don’t have to think about buying one, or go through all of the bank stuff. It would be easier on both of you. And you would both be able to still work in the city, or Carmilla could work at the college down the road, it would be a better place to raise your family…”

“Thank you Dad.” I say quietly. “But, I think this is something I need to talk over with Laura.” I say, looking at Laura as she nods. An awkward silence fell over the room and almost on queue Sophie started crying, Laura got off of my lap and let me go check on Sophie. I walked into her room and picked her up. “You saved me from getting upset in there kiddo, I am grateful for that.” I say, cradling her in my arms and sitting in the rocking chair. “What do you think about poppy giving us a house? Do you think we should go with it or so your mother and I be grown up about it and find our own house?” I ask, looking down at Sophie who was looking at me confused. “I know you have no clue what I’m saying, and I don’t expect you to really ever understand what it is I’m saying at times, but the only thing you ever need to understand is the fact that I love you more than anything in the entire world.” I say, watching as Sophie smiles slightly. “Well mommy may be up here on the list, but still.”

“I told everyone to go.” Laura says, leaning against the doorframe. “I figured they have been here long enough, and quite honestly I like being in our little bubble of just you, me, and Sophie. I think we had enough for a while.” She says, walking over to Sophie and I.

“Did they understand why you asked them to leave at least?” I ask, watching Laura nod quietly. “Just making sure.”

“We have to talk don’t we?” Laura asks, taking Sophie from me and putting her in her crib.

“We do cutie.” I say, standing up and wrapping my arms around her from behind as we stand over Sophie’s crib. “What do you want to do?”

“I want to at least look at the house. I think I deserve that much.”

“You deserve everything, and if that means looking at the house, then so be it.”

“I want to go take a hot shower and go to bed.” Laura says, turning in my arms to face me and putting her hands on the back of my neck.

“I think that’s a good idea.” I chime, leaning in to kiss her. She pulls back and smiles at me.

“Race you.” She whispers, giggling as she runs off to the bathroom.


	18. Chapter 18

-Carmilla POV-

“Mommy! Mama!” Sophie yells as she comes barreling into the room and jumping onto the bed.

“What’s wrong?” Laura mumbles as I pull the covers over my head.

“I get to start preschool today!”

“Yes you do Sweetie.” Laura coos brushing Sophie’s curly honey colored hair from her face.

“Mama, why don’t you wake up?”

“Mama doesn’t like to wake up this early.”

“Mama is no fun.” Sophie whines, a pout evident I her tone of voice.

“I’m fun.” I object, peaking out from under the cover.

“Nah-uh.” Sophie says, shaking her head.

“I am the most fun.” I say, sitting up in bed and pulling her into my lap.

“Not in the morning.” Sophie teases with a smile, laughing as I start to tickle her.

“Stop it Mama.” Sophie says through a series of laughs.

“I don’t know; you seem to be having fun.” I chime, looking over at Laura who was laughing a bit too.

“You’re fun Mama, I was just joking.”

“Okay. So are you ready to get done and go to school?”

“Yes Mama!” She shouts, wiggling out of my hold and jumping off of the bed.

“You go down stairs and feed Søren, we’ll be right down.” Laura says, seeing as she sets out the cat food in a Ziploc bag for Sophie to feed the cat, Laura wanted to teach Sophie responsibility at the ripe age of four, and this seemed like the easiest way to do it.

“Okay Mommy.”

“Good morning.” Laura chimes with a smile as she leans over to kiss me.

“Good morning to you too.”

“Are you okay?”

“I’m always okay waking up next to you.”

“Our little girl is off to preschool.” Laura says with tear filled eyes. 

“It seems like just yesterday we moved in and Sophie was saying her first words.”

* * *

_“Carmilla you have to help me out!” Laura calls as I walk around the empty living room with Sophie on my hip. Sophie was almost a year old, and although she hasn’t got the walking thing down too much, she was willing to garble and babble words and noises. It reminded Calvin of how Laura was at that age, and how Laura was more of a talker from a very early age._

_“I have Sophie!” I say, watching Laura carrying in a box._

_“You’re a pain in the butt.” She huffs as she puts the box down. It took a while for us to commit to moving into the new house, seeing as Laura had to work a lot and so did I, but we also weren’t ready to leave our family yet. But eventually, Laura took time off and I was able to transfer to a college that was in the area rather than having to commute to New York City every couple of days._

_“You love me though.” I chime, walking over to place Sophie in her playpen._

_“NO!” Sophie shouts as I go to put her down._

_“Did she just say a word?”_

_“NO!” Sophie says again._

_“She did.” I say, looking at Sophie who seemed to be pouting._

_“Of course her first word would be no.” Laura says, rolling her eyes._

_“She has your looks but my personality cupcake.” I tease, walking over to kiss her. “You love me though, and you love Sophie.”_

_“Yeah, yeah.” She says, shaking her head slightly._

_“What’s going on girls?” Sherman asks as he walks into the room._

_“Sophie said her first word, and it just so happened to be no.”_

_“She looks like Laura, but has the mannerisms and personality of Carmilla at times.” He says with a laugh._

_“I take that as a compliment.” I say with a smile._

_“As you should.” He says with a chuckle._

* * *

“To think that was nearly three years ago.” Laura says, shaking her head a bit. “When should we start trying again?”

“Whenever you want to.” I shrug and then stretch my arms over my head.

“Soon.” Laura says, getting out of bed. “I think I’ll start doing some work from home and then we’ll go from there, how does that sound?” She asks, seeing as Laura still commented to the city for work, thankfully Vordenberg was nice enough to give her Thursday afternoon to Sunday off, rather than making her still work the weekend.

“We’ll figure it out when it’s time.”

“Mommy, can I have pancakes for breakfast?” Sophie asks as she pets Søren’s head.

“Yes you can sweetheart.” Laura chimes, walking over to the cabinet and taking out the things she needed as I walked over and started to make a pot of coffee. “Are you home today?” Laura asks as we walk past each other.

“Yeah, I work home today, why?” I ask, filling up the coffee maker with water.

“I’m meeting with Perry today after work, and I don’t know when I’ll be home. She and Laf are planning on moving here.”

“Really? Like the same neighborhood and all?” I ask, opening the cabinet to get my mug.

“Yes.”

“I like Auntie Perry and Laf, Laf says funny things as Auntie Perry makes the best treats.” Sophie chimes from her place at the table.

“Well what about my cookies and treats?” Laura asks, placing her hands on her hips.

“Not as good as Auntie Perry’s”

“Well our four-year-old just told you.” I say, pouring myself a cup of coffee and taking a sip of it with a smirk.

“Auntie Perry just makes them extra betterer.” Sophie explains as I walk over to the fridge and pour her a glass of juice and giving her her morning vitamin.

“Well then.”

“I’m sorry Mommy, your cookies are good, but I like Auntie Perry’s too.” Sophie chimes as she chews her vitamin.

“Well I like mommy’s cookies and would take them over Auntie Perry’s any day.” I say, kissing Laura on the side of the head, watching her cheeks turn red from the innuendo.

“At least you like my cookies.” She says with a wink, kissing me.

“Always.”

“Your pancakes are good Mommy.”

“Thank you sweetie.” Laura says as I hand her a cup of coffee.

“What time does she have to get to school?” I ask looking at the clock to see it was nearly a quarter to eight.

“Nine.” Laura says, looking at the memo on the fridge door.

“My friend Madison is starting preschool too, we’re gonna be in the same class.” Sophie informs us as she finished up her pancakes.

“Is that right?” I ask, seeing as I never met Madison or her parents. Laura was always the one to be in charge of most of the play dates Sophie went on.

“Yep.” Sophie says, getting down from the chair and walking over to Laura and I.

“Mommy can I wear my extra special pretty dress?”

“That dress is only for extra special occasions, you can wear a different dress.” Laura says, taking her hand and leading Sophie up the stairs to get dressed. Although we didn’t enforce the girly things like some parents did, Sophie was more drawn to wearing dresses and playing with dolls naturally, but we never stopped her from playing with blocks or buying her toy cars that she liked, we never stopped her from getting dirty and playing outside. She had the dynamic to be girly when she felt like it, but also rip off a dress and run around on the mud at any moment and raising her in a house with such a big backyard made that easy for her, even though she loved the “little house in the city” she always enjoyed her “real house” more. But in the mind of a four-year-old, the fact that she had two houses, and two rooms was enough to make her happy, although she preferred her bedroom with all of her things in our house upstate, rather than her little room with not as much stuff in the apartment.

“Mama!”

“Yes Sweetie?” I say, walking to the staircase to see her standing at the top.

“Can you come help me and Mommy?”

“Anything for my princess.” I say, walking up the stairs and scooping her up on my arms as I walk into her room. After going through about three dresses, two other outfits, and what shoes to wear, we were all finally out the door and getting Sophie off to her first day at preschool.

“When will I be able to sit up front?” Sophie asks from the back seat, kicking her legs a bit as she looked out the window.

“When you’re ready to drive.” Laura says, looking at her phone.

“When is that?”

“When you’re taller.”

“How tall?” She asks, waiting to get let out of her seat. “Do I have to be tall like Aunt Danny? She’s like a giant.” Laura and I couldn’t help but crack up laughing.

“No, not like Aunt Danny, you will never be that tall.”

“Okay.” Sophie says, jumping out of the car and taking my hand as Laura closes the door and takes Sophie’s other hand. We walk into the building with Sophie and find the classroom. “I can go now.” Sophie says, trying to break from Laura and I.

“You be a good girl, listen to your teacher and be nice to everyone.” Laura says, crouching down to Sophie’s level.

“I will Mommy.”

“I love you Sweetie, I’ll see you when you and mama come get me from the train.” Laura says, kissing her on the cheek.

“Okay Mommy, I love you too. I’ll see you later Mama.” Sophie says, wrapping her arms around my legs.

“Be good Kiddo. I’ll be here in a few hours to get you.” I say, bending down to pick her up and kiss her cheek. “I love you.”

“I love you too Mama.” She says sweetly as I place her back on the floor and she runs into the classroom. I take Laura’s hand as we walk out of the building; I look over at Laura to see her crying.

“When did she get so big?” Laura says burying her face in the crook of my neck once we got to the car.

“I know Cupcake, our little girl isn’t so little anymore.” I say, kissing the top of Laura’s head.

“I want another one.”

“We’ll have another one soon enough.” I say, leaning in to kiss her. “We’ll talk about it tonight when you get home from work.”

“Okay.”

“Come on, you have to get to work.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so this chapter obviously jumped in time and isn't as long as I usually write, but I needed to put something out so you guys know that I didn't stop writing this one. Although it is coming to an end soon it will not be forgotten until it is finished :) Thank you for the kudos and love, don't forget to comment and all that fun stuff.


	19. Chapter 19

-Carmilla POV-

“Mama?” Sophie asks as she walks into our home office.

“Yes Ladybug?” I ask, typing away at my keyboard.

“Where’s Mommy?”

“Mommy had to go to the doctor today.”

“When is she gonna be home?”

“Soon Sweetie.” I say, taking off my glasses and rubbing my eyes before turning to Sophie and brushing the hair out of her face. “Why don’t we go get dinner ready before mommy gets home.” I say, watching Sophie’s face light up as she nods. I get up from the chair and take her hand in mine as we walk out of the office and downstairs into the kitchen.

“Hey.” Laura says, walking through the front door as Sophie and I reach the bottom step.

“Hi Mommy!” 

“Hello Sweetie. Don’t jump on Mommy.” Laura says, picking Sophie up. “I have news.” Laura chimes, looking at me with a wide smile, causing a smile to grow on my face without having to be told the news.

“Really?” I mouth, not wanting Sophie to hear me. I watched as Laura nodded and tears came to her eyes.

“Mommy what’s the news?” Sophie asks as Laura places her on the coffee table facing Laura and I as we sat on the couch. I take Laura’s hand and intertwine our fingers as I lean over and kiss her cheek.

“Well Sweetie, you know how your friend Kayla’s mom has a big belly?” Laura says, watching our daughter look at us in confusion.

“Yeah, Kayla says her mom ate a watermelon seed and it grew in her tummy.” Sophie says with wide eyes, causing me to crack up laughing. “It’s true Mama!”

“That doesn’t happen Bumblebee.”

“Oh. Did you eat a watermelon seed Mommy?”

“No Sweetie, I didn’t eat a watermelon seed, but there is something in my tummy that is growing.” Laura says, leaning back a bit as Sophie stands up from the coffee table and puts her hand on Laura’s belly.

“Your belly looks the same.” Sophie says as she lifts Laura’s shirt. “You even have the same mini chocolate chip by your belly button like me.” She says innocently, referring to Laura’s birthmark.

“Sweetheart, Mommy is going to have a baby.” Laura says, letting go of my hand and taking both of Sophie’s in her hands.

“A baby? Like Aunt Danny?”

“Yes Sweetie, like Aunt Danny. Mommy is going to have a baby, you’re going to have a little brother or sister.”

“How does a baby get in there?”

“The doctor helped me.” Laura says with a smile. “Are you ready to be a big sister?”

“I don’t know. How long do I have to wait?”

“A long time. By the time we have the baby it will be summer.”

“Oh, that’s forever. Do I have to share my stuff?”

“No sweetie, you don’t have to share your stuff, but if you have a little sister, will it be okay to share some of your old clothes?”

“Yeah, all of my little kid clothes don’t fit so she can have them. Can you make the baby a girl? I want a little sister.”

“Well Mommy can’t make that choice kid, that’s up to the baby, but as soon as we know what the baby is, we’ll tell you.”

“Okay. Can we go make dinner now? I’m hungry.” Sophie says, getting off of my lap.

“Go wash up and feed Søren, then we’ll be right there.” I say, moving closer to Laura on the couch. I look at her with a smile and lean in to kiss her. “When is this little one due?”

“They are due the end of June, beginning of July.” Laura says with a smile, placing her hands on mine. “What are we betting on for this time around?”

“I say a boy, but for the sake of Sophie I hope for a girl.”

“We’re going to have to pick out a girl name then, seeing as we already have a boy name in order.”

“When the time comes we should see what Soph comes up with.”

“Our child will have to be named something like Princess Anna Elsa Olaf Karnstein.” Laura says with a laugh getting up from the couch.

“Yeah that’s true.” I say, wrapping my arms around her waist. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” She says with a smile, leaning in to kiss me before we walk into the kitchen to see Sophie sitting at her little table coloring.

“Sophie.”

“Yeah Mama?” She asks, not looking up from her drawing.

“Can you keep the baby thing a secret for a little while, I want to make the announcement extra special okay?”

“Okay Mama.”

* * *

“Mama when is everyone getting here?” Sophie asks as she walks around the kitchen.

“Soon Ladybug.”

“Okay, is Mommy still sleeping?”

“Yes Sweetie.”

“Hello!” I hear Sherman shout from the entry way, I couldn’t help but smile as I see Sophie’s face light up as she runs to the front of the house.

“Hi Grampa!” She says as she jumps into his arms.

“How is my little princess?” He asks, kissing her on the cheek.

“I thought I was your little princess.” Laura whines as she walks down the stairs.

“You will always be my princess Laura, don’t worry.” He says, kissing her on the side of her head as she reaches the bottom of the stairs.

“Hi Sadie.” She says, giving her stepmother a hug before walking over to me and resting her head on my shoulder.

“Hello girls.” Sadie says, walking over to give Laura and I a hug. “Are you okay Laura?”

“I’m fine Sadie, just tired.”

“Okay Sweetie.” Sadie says with a smile.

“How are you Carmilla?”

“Very well Sadie thank you.” I say, wrapping my arm around Laura’s waist.

“Mama is Nana Karnstein coming soon too?” Sophie asks as Calvin puts her down.

“Nana will be here soon Monkey.” I say, leading everyone into the kitchen. After everyone got here, everyone being my parents, Laf, Perry, Kirsch, and Danny, Laura seemed to be getting uneasy and disappeared to our bedroom. After a minute, I made my way upstairs to see if she was okay.

“I don’t feel good Carm.”

“What’s wrong?”

“I have the worst possible headache, I feel nauseous beyond compare, I just want to stay in this bed and never come out.” Laura whines, burying her face in her pillow.

“Creampuff, everything will be okay.” I say, rubbing small circles on her back.

“I know, I just don’t remember felling this crappy when I was pregnant with Sophie, I actually enjoyed being pregnant with her.”

“I know sweetie.” I say, pulling her into me. “I think between everyone being here, the noise, all that is not so fun if you’re pregnant and is what’s getting to you, all the stress.” I explain, kissing the top of her head.

“Hey Mama?”

“Yes Bumblebee?”

“Grampa asked me to come see if Mommy is okay.” Sophie says, walking over to the bed.

“I’m okay Sweetie, I just needed to lie down for a minute.” Laura says, sitting up and pulling Sophie onto the bed.

“Can we tell the surprise now?” She asks, sitting between Laura and I.

“We can.”

“Come on Monkey.” I say, getting off of the bed and picking up Sophie. “You still wanna tell everyone?” I ask, watching her nod her head excitedly with a wide smile.

“Let’s go then.” Laura says with a smile, getting out of bed and taking my hand in hers, squeezing slightly.

“We have something to tell everyone!” Sophie shouts as we walk out to the backyard.

“Quiet voice now Sweetie.” Laura says, patting Sophie’s leg.

“Sorry Mommy.” Sophie says quietly.

“It’s okay Monkey.” She says, kissing Sophie’s cheek.

“Can I tell them now?” Sophie asks quietly, looking at everyone watching us.

“Yes you can tell them.” I whisper in her ear, kissing her on the cheek.

“Okay, put me down please.” Sophie says wiggling out of my arms. “Mommy has a baby growing in her tummy. It doesn’t look like it but that’s what she tells me.” Sophie says, patting Laura’s stomach.

“Really?” Sherman asks with tears in his eyes.

“Yes Dad.” Laura says with a smile as he walks over to hug her.

“Congratulations girls.”

“Congratulations.” Lilita says hugging Laura before walking over to hug me.

“Another grandbaby for you.” I chime as Lilita walks over to me.

“They are going to be just as beautiful as Sophie.”

“Ah, but this one will look more like me.”

“Oh, you did that for this one?”

“Seeing as I can’t carry, yeah.”

“Well at least they are a part of you as well as Laura.” Lilita says with a smile.

“That’s true. I would want anyone else to have my child.” I say, crossing my arms over my chest.

“Not even that Ell girl?”

“She was the furthest thing from a mother than you could imagine. I would have never had a child with her even if I could have children because she would never carry. Ell would have never given me the life I have with Laura. I needed her more than anything in the entire world.”

“You look at Laura like she is your life line.”

“Because she is.” I say, looking over at everyone gawking at Laura. “I wouldn’t be the person I am now without her.”

“And that is how you should feel. You should always feel that way when you marry someone.” Lilita says. “I know I was never your favorite person, but the way you feel about Laura is the way I know your father feels about me and how I feel about him. I’m happy we were able to get past everything Carmilla.”

“I am too Mom.”

“Nana! Nana!” Sophie says, rushing over to us.

“Yes my love?” Lilita says, picking Sophie up.

“I just wanna say hi and get a hug.” Sophie chimes, wrapping her arms around Lilita’s neck.

“That’s what Nana’s are for.” Lilita chimes, kissing Sophie’s cheek.

“Carmilla!” Sherman shouts. I look over to see him standing over Laura who is curled into a ball on the ground.

“Laura? What’s wrong?” I ask, rushing over to her. “Cupcake?” I say softly, brushing the hair out of her face.

“Something’s wrong.” She whispers, clutching her stomach, I look down and my eyes widen.

“Sherman, I need you to get everyone to leave and take Sophie.” I say, watching him follow my line of sight.

“Okay.”

“I want to stay with Mommy!” Sophie cries out.

“Sweetie you have to go with Grampa, okay? Mommy will be okay, you have to go.” I say, watching the tears stream down her face as she tries to understand.

“Okay Mama.” She says sadly, burying her face in the crook of Calvin’s neck.

“Laura?”

“I don’t feel right.”

“I know Cupcake, can you sit up?” I say, trying to pull her into a sitting position. “We need to get to the hospital, I need you to stand up, okay? We’ll go slow.” I say, standing up in front of her and taking her hands in mine trying to pull her into a standing position.

“I can’t do that.”

“Okay.” I say, bending over to carry her ‘bridal style.’ “Everything is going to be okay.” I say, kissing her forehead as I carry her to the car.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cliffhangers are fun... for me as a writer, for you as a reader? Not so much... Comments are welcome as always, and thank you for the love you give this story... hopefully you still love it after this chapter...


	20. Chapter 20

-Laura POV-

I’m lying in a hospital bed in the ER and my insides feel like they were ripped out. Carmilla refuses to leave my side for a second, even when the nurses come in do a test she glares at them when they say she has to step out of the room. “Be nice.” I whisper to her, squeezing her hand a bit every time they take a bit of blood.

“I’m scared.” She whispers in my ear, resting her forehead against the side of my head.

“I am too Carm."

“Mrs. Karnstein?” The doctor asks as he walks into the little room. He looks between Carmilla and I, a confused look on his face.

“The Mrs. Karnstein in question is the one with tubes in her arm doc, Laura.”

“I’m sorry. My wife and I have been here for a very long time and we just want to know what’s going on, our daughter is with my dad and she’s scared too, well everyone is and I just want to go home.”

“Okay, sorry for the wait. I don’t know how to put this…” He trails off, pushing his glasses to the top of his head.

“Did we lose our baby, doctor?” Carmilla asks, her voice thick and raspy.

“You lost one of them, yes.” He says seriously.

“Were we going to have twins?”

“You were, yes. Sometimes things like this happen where if a woman is carrying twins, fraternal of course, that one can miscarry at twelve weeks. I’m sorry.” He says quietly. I look over at Carmilla who was paler than usual. “I’ll give you girls some time to process, I want to do another ultrasound before you leave, and your fluids were low Laura, so I want that bag of fluid empty before you leave.” He says pointing to the nearly full IV bag on its hook. “You’re going to be here for a bit longer.”

“Are you okay?”

“I – I don’t know. One of our babies is gone.” She whispers, placing her hand on my lower abdomen. “One of my babies.”

“I’m sorry Carm.”

“It’s not your fault, this is something that can never be your fault at all, and don’t even think for a second that it was.” She says, snapping her head up to look at me. “Things like this can happen no matter what, there is nothing we could have done to prevent it.” She says, placing her hand on my cheek.

“I know.”

“I love you Laura, no matter what happens everything will be okay, and our little baby in there will be just as strong and as beautiful as Sophie is.”

“You’re right.” I say quietly, leaning in to kiss her. “I love you.” She whispers against my lips.

“I love you more.”

“Never thought I’d hear you say that.”

We decided to keep the miscarriage to ourselves for a while, not wanting to discuss something like that to anyone for about three months after the fact. Not to mention it was confusing for those who assumed to see me showing. So we gathered everyone up one afternoon while Sophie was at a friend’s house and explained what had happened and that the baby I was carrying was expected to be a happy and healthy little being.

“Mama?” Sophie asks Carmilla as the three of us lie in bed; Sophie of course always called the middle.

“Yes Sweetie?”

“Why don’t you have a baby growing in your tummy like Mommy?” She asks, looking up at the ceiling, looking at the glow in the dark stars she insisted on putting up in Carmilla’s and my bedroom for the nights when Sophie would run in if she had a bad dream and squeeze in between Carmilla and myself.

“I can’t grow a baby in my tummy. The doctor says it wouldn’t work and I’d get very, very sick, and if I tried to I would go to Heaven and wouldn’t be able to take care of the baby.”

“That’s sad.”

“At least Mommy can grow all the babies she wants to!” She says excitedly, placing her hand on my growing bump and patting it. “Is the baby all cozy in there, Mommy?”

“Yes they are, in fact the next appointment I have with the doctor, they get to tell me if it’s a boy or a girl.”

“Then I get to know if it’s a brother or a sister?”

“Yep.”

“Mama, do you want a boy or a girl?” Sophie asks turning to Carmilla.

“What do you want Ladybug?” Carmilla asks, brushing away some of the curls from Sophie’s face.

“I want a brother maybe. Can I have a brother and a sister?”

“Sometimes people can have two babies, but mommy is only having one sweetie, so you can only have a brother or a sister.”

“Oh, two would be a lot anyway, then no one will have time to play with me. Like Aunt Danny has little baby Wilson, she can’t play with me so much when they come over cause the baby always needs his mommy. But I have two mommies!” She says with a giggle. “I get an extra mommy because I’m extra special.” She says, repeating the words Carmilla and I told her when she came home from preschool sad one day after some boy told her having two mommies is weird.

“That’s right, you are extra special.”

“Extra, extra special.”

“I love you mommy.” Sophie says giving me a sloppy kiss on the cheek. “I love you mama.” She says, giving Carmilla a sloppy kiss on the cheek. All of a sudden the doorbell rang.

“Are you expecting anyone?”

“Nope. Are you?” I ask, getting out of bed. “Sophie, go play in your room for a minute.”

“Okay Mommy.” She says as she skips to her bedroom. Carmilla goes downstairs and looking at opens the curtain to the window beside the door and looks to see who is there.

“What the fuck?” She says under her breath. She opens the door with a scowl. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“Oh, that isn’t a way to greet a new neighbor.”

“You’re kidding right?” Carmilla scoffs.

“I most certainly am not. I moved it just down a couple of houses and I was curious to see if anyone was in this old house of your parents’.” They chime; I walk up beside Carm and place my hand on her chest. “Well if it isn’t little Laura. You look good.” Ell chimes.

“What are you doing here?”

“Moved in down a couple of houses. I new this place was the Karnsteins’ I never thought Carmilla would be the one to inherit it though.” Ell says, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Laura wanted to get out of the city, and I didn’t want to raise a family there.” Carmilla says, placing her hand on the small of my back. “What drove you out of the city?”

“The hubby, he has his apartment in the city but likes his house more.”

“Husband, what are you straight now?” Carmilla snickers.

“It takes one decent person in your life to change the perspective of things.” Ell says. “He’s very good to me.”

“Good for you. I have a four-year-old to attend to.” Carmilla says trying to close the door.

“Can I see them?”

“You’re delusional.” Carmilla snaps, closing the door in her face.

“Mama?” Sophie asks, pulling at Carmilla’s hoodie.

“Yes Sweetie?” She says, crouching down to her level.

“Why are you yelling at the lady? We’re not allowed to yell unless we’re really, really mad.”

“This lady isn’t a very nice lady and she makes mama really, really, really mad.” Carmilla explains.

“That’s an extra really.” Sophie says wide-eyed.

“That’s how mad she makes me.”

“Oh.” Sophie says, cocking her head to the side. “Can I say hi to the lady?”

“I don’t know Sweetie.” Carmilla says.

“Let me say hi.” Ell chimes, Carmilla looks up and her purses her lips. “Hi there.” Ell chimes, crouching down to be at eyelevel with Sophie just outside the screen door.

“You’re pretty.” Sophie coos. “But my Mommy is prettier and so is my Mama.”

“Well that’s true, your moms are both very pretty. Can I ask you your name?” Ell says with the same smile.

“I’m not allowed to tell my name to strangers, and you make my mama really, really, really mad. That’s three really’s, that’s a lot. That means she’s extra mad.” Sophie explains, playing with the toy in her hands while avoiding eye contact with Ell.

“I don’t mean to make your mama that mad, grown-ups do things they don’t always mean and hurt each other, but sometimes they stay mad and when they want to make up they don’t want to. Do you understand?”

“Kinda, but not really.”

“Think of it this way ladybug, Ell here want to apologize for hurting my feelings and she wants to be my friend, but she hurt my feelings so bad that I don’t want to be her friend ever again.”

“Like Robby when he said having two moms was weird. We were friends, then he made me cry and I don’t want to be his friend anymore when he tries to play cars with me at school.”

“Exactly.” Carmilla says, kissing the top of Sophie’s head. “You’re so smart monkey.” She adds with a smile.

“Super extra smart!” Sophie says excitedly. “Can I go watch TV for a little bit?” She asks, looking up at me.

“For a little bit.” I say, placing my hand in her shoulder for a moment before she runs into the den.

“She is beautiful. You really have it made don’t you?” Ell adds with a small smile.

“I have everything I’ve ever needed in life right here.” Carmilla says, wrapping her arm around me. “I wouldn’t want it any other way.”

“Well, I mean we were friends and all, if you’re willing to try and make things work, seeing as we’re neighbors, our kids may end up being friends and I don’t want to make things weird for them if that does become the case you know. I’m not asking to be best friends and have barbeques in the summer every weekend or even have coffee during the week. I’m just asking for the sake of what may be…”

“I’ll think about it.” Carmilla states, pinching the bridge of her nose.

“Okay.”

“You hurt me Ell. Granted it was years ago but at the time it was unforgivable, for the sake of what may be I will be willing to look past it, but like you said we aren’t going to be over each other’s houses all the time.”

“At least you’re willing. I have to go, I have a little one at home that needs his mommy.”

“You’re a mother too?”

“Yeah.” Ell says, taking her phone out of her pocket. “He’s about nine months now, his name is John, like his father, but we call him Jack.”

“Congratulations.” Carmilla says with a genuine smile she usually reserved for Sophie and me. “I’m proud that you got over yourself, glad to see you’ve grown up.”

“Well when your dad was walking around the office boasting about how he had the best looking granddaughter in the world, it woke me up a bit.” Ell shrugs. “He loves you guys. He loves Sophie so much, every time he gets a new photo he has to show everyone. I never thought he would be that way in a million years.”

“Yeah, I managed to make my dad very proud, even Lilita. Look you have to get going; we have to check on the bug, why don’t we get together one day? Sophie has preschool Tuesday thru Thursday; we can figure something out.” Carmilla says looking at me; I nod slightly thinking it will be a good idea for Carmilla to find closure and solace in being friends with Ell.

“My number never changed, just give me a call.” She says, walking off of the porch with a smile and jogging across the street. Carmilla closes the door with a sigh.

“Small world.” I chime, wrapping my arms around her shoulders.

“Extremely small world.” She says, leaning in to kiss me and pulling me closer to her, well as close a possible with the offending baby pump in our way.

“I love you Carm, and I know that you know the right thing to do.” I say, looking into her eyes.

“I know you do. You keep me level headed.”

“You level headed? Come on, you don’t even know the meaning of the phrase.”

“I love you, you dork.” She says, kissing me again. “We have a four-year-old getting lost in the wonderful world of Paw Patrol at the moment.” Carmilla adds, kissing me again and taking my hand in hers, dragging me to the den where Sophie is standing up and looking up at the TV that was mounted on the wall.

“Mama, can we put the TV down more so I can see it without looking up?” Sophie asks, turning to look at Carmilla and I walk into the room, I sit down on the couch while Carm walks over to Sophie picking her up and throwing her over her shoulder, patting her bottom playfully.

“The key to seeing the TV is watching it from the couch, monkey.” Carmilla says, tickling Sophie as she puts her on the couch between us. “If you get too close, you’ll have to wear glasses.”

“Like you when you’re working?” Sophie asks, looking up at Carmilla. “And like mommy when she’s reading?”

“But we only have to wear them sometimes, you may have to wear them all the time.” I say, kissing the top of her head.

“I don’t wanna do that.” Sophie says, looking at the TV. “I can see better from here anyway.”

“That’s why you should listen to us.”

“Okay Mama, I’ll listen to you lots.” Sophie says with a smile.

 

-Carmilla POV-

“Ready to go?” Laura asks, standing in the entryway of the den.

“Yes ma’am.” I say, putting the book I was reading on the coffee table. “What are we betting on?”

“Boy.” Laura chimes as I open the car door for her.

“Okay. Ryder Sherman Karnstein for the win.” I chime, kissing Laura before she gets in the car. We managed to find a doctor affiliated with Dr. Callis, which made things easy for us seeing as she would come up here when she rotated with her schedule in the city.

“Hello ladies.” Dr. Callis says as she walks into the room. “How are you feeling Laura? Since what happened I just want to check on how you are doing emotionally.” Callis says as she sits down at her ultrasound monitor.

“We handled it very well, thank you. I think we’re past it.” Laura says, squeezing my hand a bit.

“That’s good to hear. Who’s betting this round?”

“We both think they’re a boy.” I say, placing my hand on Laura’s stomach.

“Okay. Let’s see.” She chimes, following the procedure of cold goo and ultrasound wand, she turns on the sound and the familiar whooshing sound fills the room, the sound is exactly the same as I remember Sophie’s being. “Ah, you are both wrong.” Dr. Callis chimes.

“A little girl?”

“Yes ma’am.” Dr. Callis says. “And she looks like she’s going to be a strong little munchkin much like her sister.”

“Sophie is going to be excited.” I say, kissing Laura on the side of her head.

“Well congratulations mommies.” Dr. Callis chimes. “And I hope your daughter is happy to have a little sister.” She adds, printing out the picture and handing Laura a paper towel.

“Another girl.”

“And she is going to look just like you.” Laura says, pulling her shirt down and sitting up straight.

“I can’t wait.” I say quietly, leaning in to kiss her. We leave the doctor’s office and get a quick lunch before we have to get Sophie from preschool. We decide to make a quick stop and the toy store to get something for Sophie to give her when we tell her we’re having a baby, and just because we enjoy spoiling her.

“Do you think she’s going to take it well?” Laura asks as we walk hand in hand through the school to Sophie’s classroom.

“Maybe, she seems happy about having a little sibling, so I think it wouldn’t matter if it’s a boy or a girl.” I say, kissing the side of her head as we stand with the rest of the moms and dads and even grandparents getting their kids.

“Mama!”

“Inside voices Sophie.” Her teacher chimes, placing a finger to her lips, signaling for Sophie to be quiet.

“Sorry Miss Lily.” Sophie says quietly.

“It’s okay sweetie, you can go with your moms now.” Miss Lily chimes as she waves goodbye to Sophie with a smile.

“Hey Bug.”

“Hi Mama.” She says, kissing me on the cheek. “Hi mommy.” She says, leaning to kiss Laura on the cheek. “Did you go to the doctor today like you said at breakfast?”

“Yes we did.” I say, taking Laura’s hand in mine.

“Are we having a baby brother or a baby sister?” Sophie asks excitedly.

“What do you want to have?”

“I want a sister to have fun with when she’s big and not a baby.”

“Well the doctor said that we can’t tell you until we get you home.” I say, putting her in her car seat.

“Okay Mama. Can I do my straps?” Sophie asks, getting herself into the car seat without an issue. “Now you can make me safe.” She says, holding out her arms so she doesn’t get pinched. After we get home and eat dinner, I give Sophie a bath while Laura takes a little nap before Sophie is ready to go to bed.

“Laura, Baby?” I say, walking into our room and waking her up gently.

“I like sleeping.” She whispers, burying her face into her pillow.

“You’re talking to the queen of sleep Cupcake.” I tease, brushing the hair out of her face. She opens her eyes slightly before grinning. “We have to tell the little one about the littler one.”

“I know.” She says with a yawn as she sits up in bed. “Okay. Let’s tell her.” Laura says getting out of bed. With another yawn, we make our way into Sophie’s room where she is coloring at her little table with the new crayons and coloring book we got her. “Sophie?”

“Yes Mommy?” Sophie asks, looking up from what she was coloring. “Look, I stayed in the lines like you say to do. I tried my best and it looks like when you and mama color.” She says proudly, holding up the book for us to see.

“That’s really good monkey, but we have to tell you something.” I say, watching her face light up as she puts down her books and bounces onto her bed, she places her ear on Laura’s belly, listening carefully to see if the baby was up, she always did that when it was her bedtime. Sophie felt it was unfair that she had a bedtime and the baby didn’t. We had to explain that the baby in Laura’s belly didn’t know about bedtimes yet, and won’t understand bedtime for a while.

“Is the baby okay in there?” Sophie asks. “You okay in there, baby?” She asks Laura’s bellybutton after she lifts her shirt a bit.

“Everything is fine honey, we came to tell you what the doctor said.” Laura says with a small laugh. “Your little sister is doing very well in there.”

“Little sister?” Sophie asks, snapping her head to look between Laura and me, a wide smile on her face. “Hi little sister. I’m your big sister Sophie, but you know that already. At least I know you’re going to be a girl like me and not a smelly, stinky boy.” She says, kissing Laura’s bump.

“Are you going to be a good sister?” I ask, pulling Sophie into my lap.

“The best sister in the world.” She chimes with a huge grin. “I’m gonna share my old clothes and some of my toys, not all of my toys though, the ones that are special are mine, the ones that aren’t special I can give her. Can we pick a name?”

“Not tonight monkey, we can do that tomorrow, right now, it’s time for you to go to bed.” I say, standing up with Sophie in my arms as I walk over to the head of her bed, pulling back the covers and getting her under them. Laura and I tuck her in and give her all the kisses she asks for. Then I turn on her nightlight while Laura walks over and turns off the overhead light at the switch and close the door over a bit.

“We’re doing really good, aren’t we Carm?” Laura asks as she rests her head on my chest.

“We are doing the absolute best, and we will keep doing the absolute best.” I say, wrapping her in a hug and kissing the top of her head. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”


	21. Chapter 21

-Carmilla POV-

“Hey Carm?” Laura asks as she walks into the kitchen, her hands on her lower back.

“Yes Cupcake?”

“Can you rub my back?”

“All I’m good for is rubbing your feet and your back and feeding you whatever weird cravings you get.”

“But you’re good at all of those things, so why wouldn’t I ask you?”

“Yeah, yeah. Aren’t we supposed to be getting you ready to go to the hospital, it’s nearly your due date.” I say, realizing it was nearly the sixth of July.

“Dr. Callis said I can give it a little bit, if I’m overdue, it may be from timing things wrong.” Laura shrugs. “I don’t want to rush this little one, I want everything to just happen on its own.”

“I know Cupcake.” I say, standing you and kissing her shoulder. “We still haven’t finalized on a real name, and I don’t want to name our daughter Elsa Anna Olaf.” I tease, wrapping my arms around her and resting my hands on her bump.

“What was your mother’s name?”

“Daisy.”

“Daisy Elizabeth?” Laura asks, looking at me for approval. “Gammy’s name is Elizabeth.”

“Daisy Elizabeth Karnstein. It has a ring to it, something I feel like I will be saying every Friday night in about seventeen years.” I tease, kissing Laura on her neck. “Or in the next five, she may be a baby of mayhem.”

“I think she’s going to be the best.”

“Yes, but this is my kid we’re talking about. The Karnstein gene is one that plays by its own rules.” I tease, resting my forehead on Laura’s.

“The dreaded Karnstein gene, both a blessing and a curse.” Laura teases, kissing me. “Ah!”

“Are you okay?”

“I think so. Uhm, no, ow, ow.”

“Contraction?”

“Yeah!”.

“Okay.” I say, getting the duffle bag from the hall closet. “Nice and slow.” I say leading the way to the car. “See I told you Karnstein’s play by their own rules.” I tease, receiving a playful slap from Laura.

“I don’t have time for your teasing, I have to give birth soon.” Laura says with a small laugh.

 

-Sophie POV-

“Hey Grampa?” I ask him, he’s holding me he says he’s taking me to see mommy, but we aren’t anywhere I know. We’re in a different place that’s very bright and white. Everyone is sad, or happy, but mostly sad. We walk past a room with a window that has all babies on the other side, some of them are crying, some of them are sleeping, some of the beds are even empty.

“Yes Sweetie?” Grampa says, he doesn’t look at me though, he just holds me a little tighter.

“Where is Mommy? Did she have my baby sister?” I ask. I still look at the babies in the window, even though I can’t seem them from far away.

“Yes Sweetie, Mommy had her baby.”

“Is she in this place?”

“She is. This is the hospital; this is where all the mommies go when they have babies. I told you that in the car princess.” Grampa says, he looks at all the doors we walk past, I think he’s looking for mommy, but most of the doors are closed so we can’t look into them.

“Hey! That’s my name K-A-R-N-S-T-E-I-N, Karnstein, Mommy’s in that one!” I say, but not in my inside voice.

“You did good at spelling sweetheart, and reading.” He says, he holds up his hand for a high five. “But inside voices remember, especially because there are babies around and some of them might be taking a nap.” Grampa says, opening the door with my name on it. When we get in I see mama sitting in a big chair next to a big bed where mommy is holding a blanket.

“Hey.” Mama says, walking over to Grampa and me. “Are you ready to meet your sister?”

“Is she pretty?”

“She is very pretty, just like you.” Mama says, kissing me on the cheek. She puts me on the bed, I sit Indian-style in front of mommy, she has a big smile on her face.

“Sophie, this is your little sister Daisy.” Mommy whispers, she turns the blankets so I can see my sister. She’s teeny weeny, she has a small nose and her eyes are closed she doesn’t have hair on her head and when she yawn she has no teeth at all.

“Hi Daisy, I’m Sophie.” I say, using my quietest inside voice, but not whispering. “When is she doing to be big enough to play with me?”

“Not for a while Ladybug.” Mama says, sitting in the big chair again.

“So she’s gonna stay little forever?”

“Not forever Sweetheart, but for a while. It may seem like forever but it isn’t I promise.” Mommy says, putting her hand on my cheek.

“Okay Mommy. When are you coming home?”

“Tomorrow. You get to have mama all to yourself tonight.” Mommy says with a smile.

“But you gonna be here all by yourself. What if you have a bad dream? Are you gonna miss me and Mama?” I ask I try to keep my inside voice.

“I will miss you and Mama, but I have to stay here. The doctor has to make sure Daisy can come home, they have to make sure she’s healthy and ready to come with us.” Mommy says, using her soft voice. She always uses her soft voice to explain things to me.

“Okay Mommy. Does that mean mama and me can have ice cream for dinner?” I ask smiling when she smiles. I look at mama to see her laughing. Mommy never let me have ice cream for dinner, but Mama would always when Mommy wasn’t home.

“You know that’s supposed to be a secret.”

“Sorry Mama.” I whisper to her face laughing when she kisses me on the cheek, but instead of a kiss she blows a raspberry. “Mama’s being silly, Mommy.”

“Mama is always silly.”

“I love you Mama.” I say, blowing a raspberry on her cheek. “I love you Mommy.”

“Be careful of Daisy.” Mommy says when I lean to kiss her cheek. “We don’t want to squish her.”

“I love you Daisy. I’m not gonna squash you.”

 

-Carmilla POV-

“Mama, why are babies so teeny weeny?” Sophie asks from the backseat as we drive home.

“They have to fit inside the mommy’s tummy, if they were too big they wouldn’t be able to fit.”

“But why are some teenier than other ones? The room with the babies had all different sizes, and some were in different kinda boxes.” She says, looking out the window when I glance at her quickly in the rearview mirror.

“If a baby is born before its ready, they come out smaller, but babies can be all different sizes. Just not big like you.”

“Oh. Okay.” She says, giving her attention back to her toy. “Am I gonna have to share my room when she’s bigger?”

“No Bumblebee, you don’t have to share your room with her.”

“Good, cause I like my room.”

“Well you know Aunt Perry and Laf have been helping me and mommy with Daisy’s room, she’s going to keep that room.”

“I dunno.” Sophie shrugs, skipping to the front door. After having ice cream for dinner as promised, as well as something healthy, as per Laura’s request, Sophie and I were curled up on my side of the queen-sized bed. “Mama?”

“Yes Bug?” I ask, playing with her hair.

“I miss Mommy.”

“I miss Mommy too.” I say, kissing the top of her head as my phone begins to ring. “Oh look who it is.” I chime, answering Laura’s FaceTime. “Hello.” I say with a smile, watching Laura’s face light up.

“I miss you.” Laura says.

“Mommy!”

“Hello Sweetie, are you being good?”

“I am Mommy, when are you coming home? It’s not the same being in your bed without you. I’m not squished.” Sophie says, taking the phone from me.

“I know Sweetie, but I’ll be there tomorrow night to squish you as best as I can. You know I have to take care of Daisy sweetie.”

“I know Mommy, but you still have time for me, right?”

“Of course I do.” Laura chimes. “Can I talk to Mama?”

“Okay. Here Mama.” Sophie says handing me the phone.

“Go play for a little bit, I have to talk to mommy about grownup things.” I say, helping Sophie down from the bed. “Hi.”

“I miss you, it’s weird not having you here tonight.”

“It feels weird not being there. I remember when Sophie was born I didn’t leave your side for a second.”

“I know, and now I’m here and you’re home.”

“I’ll be there as soon as I get Sophie off to school, you know that.”

“I know but it’s not the same.”

“I know, but it’s for the sake of our daughter. You’ll be home before you know it, complaining about not being able to sleep and how you get annoyed with you have to breast feed.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too cupcake. There is nothing that will change that.”

“I know; you’re so good to us.”

“I love my girls, I wouldn’t want to be anything less than good to all three of you

 

-Laura POV-

“Mommy!” Sophie says excitedly as I walk through the door, while she runs over to me to give me a hug.

“Hello Sweetheart.” I chime, kissing her on the cheek.

“I missed you so much Mommy. Where’s Mama?”

“Mama’s getting Daisy out of the car sweetie, she’ll be in any second.” I say, trying to usher Sophie back into the den. “Hi Dad.” I say when I walk in to see my dad sitting on the couch.

“Hello Pumpkin. How are you feeling?”

“Tired.” I say, sitting down on the couch.

“Hello Sherman.” Carmilla says as she walks into the den with Daisy, she places the car seat on the coffee table in front of me so I can take her out before she moves it beside the couch.

“Last time you didn’t get a proper chance to meet her, but Dad, this is Daisy. Daisy, this is your grandpa.” I chime, watching her open her eyes, she looks up at my dad for a moment before smirking slightly, a smirk that immediately reminded me of Carmilla.

“Well, if she doesn’t look like a spit image of you Carmilla.”

“Thank you Sherman.”

“Hello Daisy, another granddaughter, another lady to spoil.”

“You stopped spoiling me when I went to college.” I say, resting my head on Carmilla’s shoulder when she sits beside me.

“Yeah I know. But up until that moment, I spoiled you rotten.”

“Then I took over.”

“You spoil me better than he did.”

“Well it’s time to go back to Mommy.” My dad says once Daisy starts crying.

“She’s probably hungry.”

“I have to get going anyway Sweetie, I’ll see you girls again this weekend.” My dad says as I start to stand up, causing me to sit down.

“Okay Daddy. Thank you for watching Sophie.”

“No problem.”

“Bye-bye Grampa.” Sophie says, running over to give him a hug. Once he leaves, I hand Daisy to Carmilla for a moment to fix my shirt to feed Daisy. “Mommy?”

“Yes Sweetie?”

“How come Daisy has to eat like that?”

“Well when you were a baby, you were fed the same way. It helps her get big and strong when she gets milk from Mommy, then when she’s old enough to eat real food she won’t need to eat like this anymore.”

“Is that why I don’t do that anymore?”

“Exactly, you’re a big girl and you can eat real food, Daisy isn’t big enough to do that yet.”

“Oh, okay.”

“Are you okay?”

“I’m just tired. I may go lie down when I put Daisy down when she’s done feeding.”

“Okay Cupcake.” Carmilla says, kissing the side of my head. “I’ll take her if she’s done.” Carmilla adds, holding her hands out to take Daisy and burp her.

“Thank you.”

“Hello there Mini Me.” Carmilla coos as she starts lightly patting Daisy’s back. “Oh there you go, big burp from such a little being.”

“Don’t tease our daughter.”

“It’s all in good fun.”

“Yeah, yeah.” I say, kissing her again before walking upstairs, Carm following close behind as I walk into our room, walking over to the closet to change, while Carmilla puts Daisy in her bassinet. After changing into one of Carmilla’s old t-shirts and a pair of gym shorts, I walk over and throw myself on the bed.

“Are you gonna be okay?”

“Yeah, she should be sleeping for a bit, once she gets up, I’ll be up. I’m just happy to be back in my bed.” I say, closing my eyes.

“I’ll go keep the other rugrat entertained and feed her something for lunch, I’ll leave the baby monitor on just in case.”

“You’re the best.”

“I know.” She says with a smirk, kissing me on the cheek. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Sophie POV was inspired by reading the book Room, a book that I recommend to everyone.


	22. Chapter 22

-Carmilla POV-

“Mama?” Sophie asks, walking over to where I was working at the kitchen table.

“Yes Bug?”

“When is Mommy coming home?” She asks, rubbing her eye.

“Mommy should be home any minute, why?” I ask, closing my laptop and putting my glasses on top of it.

“I miss Daisy, can I hold her when Mommy gets home?”

“You’ll have to see how she is when she comes back from the doctor, okay?” I say, getting up from the table. Laura had to take Daisy for her three-month check up and she was scheduled to get a couple of shots.

“Carm!”

“Yeah.”

“Take her out of this contraption please.” She says, handing the car seat to me.

“Mommy!” Sophie shouts, running over to hug Laura’s legs.

“Hello Monkey.” Laura says, kissing the top of Sophie’s head.

“Can I hold Daisy please?”

“Let me feed her and Mama burp her and then you can hold her.” Laura says, patting Sophie on the head.

“Okay Mommy.”

“How was the doctor?” I ask, kissing Laura before following her into the den with Daisy in my arms.

“She’s doing very well, she’s growing at a good rate, and everything seems to be tip top.”

“The powerful little Karnstein is right where she needs to be.” I say, holding up Daisy like I’m Rafiki holding up Simba in The Lion King.

“If you start singing The Circle of Life I’m leaving.”

“Mommy is cranky.” I say, kissing Daisy on the cheek before handing her off to Laura.

“Mommy needs a nap.”

“Mommy can have a nap as soon as she is done feeding the small child.”

“Hey Mama?” Sophie asks from her little table in the corner of the den by the window.

“Yes Bug?”

“Auntie Ell is walking to the door.” She says, looking down at what she was coloring.

“Why is Ell here?”

“I don’t know.”

“Holy shit you scared me.” Ell says, seeing as she didn’t knock or ring the bell.

“The little one said she say you walking up the walk.”

“Ah, she is just as much of an investigative journalist as Laura.”

“Yeah well. So what brings you over?”

“Seeing as it’s Halloween tomorrow, I came by to ask if you want to take the girls, well Sophie, would like to go trick or treating with Jack and I seeing as John has to work and I have no one to take him. It’s the first Halloween he can somewhat participate in and I want to get pictures and all that fun stuff.”

“I don’t see why not. Sophie may have fun with that.”

“Hi Auntie Ell.” Sophie chimes as she runs over to the door.

“Hello Sophie, are you being good for your moms?” Ell asks, opening the screen door and walking into the house, she kneels down and gives Sophie a hug.

“Yep.” Sophie says, popping the word.

“Hey kiddo, how do you feel about going trick or treating with Jack on Halloween?” I say, brushing the hair out of her face.

“Okay, can I still dress up like Elsa?”

“Of course you can Sweetie.”

“Then I’ll go.”

“Carm!”

“Go.” Ell says before she starts talking to Sophie. I walk into the den to find Laura trying to burp Daisy.

“Cupcake, you don’t look too good.”

“I feel dizzy.”

“Hang on.” I say, patting Daisy on the back as I walked into the kitchen to get Laura a glass of orange juice. After having one kid, you learn how to do a lot of things one handed, even something that seemed as complicated as pouring a glass of juice was able to be done with ease holding a sleeping infant. “Here, drink.” I say, walking back into the den, handing Laura the glass.

“Thank you.” She says, drinking down the juice and closing her eyes. “That was weird.”

“Low blood sugar, you didn’t eat this morning before you left, and I know you didn’t eat anything while you were gone because you did this once when you took Sophie to the doctor and I couldn’t go.”

“Thank you anyway Miss Know-It-All.”

“Hey, not my fault I’m an amazing wife.” I chime, kissing the side of Daisy’s head before walking her to the stairs.

“Hello sleeping Daisy.” Ell chimes, standing up straight to look at the sleeping baby on my shoulder. “She looks a lot like you.”

“Thank you.”

“You lucked out with a very beautiful family.”

“Thank you. Let me go put her to bed before she starts crying.” I say, walking up the stairs and into Laura’s and my bedroom, placing Daisy in the bassinet. “Alright, this little monster has to have some lunch and potentially a nap, she was up early.” I say as I walk down the stairs to see Ell and Laura talking in the foyer and Sophie sitting on the step.

“I don’t need a nap Mama.” Sophie says, looking up at me and yawning.

“Okay Monkey.”

“Ell and Jack are going to come by tomorrow around three Carm.” Laura says with a smile.

“Okay, no problem.”

“Alright, I see you guys tomorrow.” Ell says before leaving the house.

 

-Laura POV-

“Let it go! Let it go!” I hear Sophie sing at the top of her lungs.

“I swear I am going to make that DVD have an accident.” I say rubbing my temples.

“It’s her Halloween costume.” Carmilla says, standing behind me and rubbing my shoulders.

“Yeah, but the fact that all she does from time to time is watch the movie and sing the song.”

“I miss your baby belly.” Carmilla whispers in my ear as she wraps her arms around my waist.

“You said that when Sophie was born too.”

“I like when you’re pregnant, you’re so beautiful.” She says with a smile, leaning in to kiss me.

“Thank you.”

“Are we going to have another one?”

“One day, maybe.” I chime kissing her again before the sound of Daisy’s cries fill the room.

“I’ll get her.” Carmilla says, kissing me on the cheek before walking up stairs. I sigh and walk into the den to see Sophie twirling around singing ‘Let It Go’ to the best she can remember.

“Sweetie.”

“Hi Mommy.” She says, slightly out of breath. “When is Auntie Ell coming over?”

“Soon Sweet Pea.” I say, kissing her on her forehead when she walks over to me. Sure enough ten minutes later we were out on the street with the three kids trick or treating. Carmilla insisted that we dress Daisy up in something, so we dressed her up as a little pumpkin, Sophie was Elsa, and little Jack was dressed up as Batman. After Ell and I insisted on pictures before we started down the street, things ran pretty smoothly for about three houses. Then there’s the one neighbor that takes Halloween a little too seriously and comes to the door dressed as a zombie, scaring the kids half to death and making them not want to go around anymore. Of course that one neighbor was Laf and when they tried to explain Sophie was far from convinced that everything was okay.

“Laf, you couldn’t tone it down a little bit, this is a neighborhood with a little kids.” Carmilla says as she holds a crying Sophie.

“I’m sorry. Look Sophie, it’s me. It’s Laf.” They say, taking a rag from their back pocket and wiping away some of the make-up.

“Why are you scary?”

“I’m sorry Kiddo, I didn’t mean to be too scary.” Laf says with a sad smile.

“You planned on this make-up job for weeks, and now you’ve scared Sophie.” Perry says annoyed. “Go wipe that crap off and put on the mad scientist costume until later. Little kids are out at this house.” Perry adds as she grabs them by the elbow and making them go inside. “I’m sorry Sophie, do you still want your treats?” Perry asks with a smile, holding up a small goodie bag, Sophie smiles and nods her head as she wiggles out of Carmilla’s arms.

“Thank you Auntie Perry.”

“You’re welcome Sophie. Here you go Jack.” She says, walking over to Ell and handing him a little teddy bear that looks like a piece of candy corn.

“Thank you Perry.” Ell says with a smile, taking the bear and putting it on his bucket.

“There, now I look decent.” Laf says, running over with their hair all over the place and a lab coat on.

“You should have looked like that before.” Perry says sternly before smiling and kissing Laf.

“Ew.” Carmilla grimaces.

“Don’t say that.” I say, shoving her playfully, watching her smile before she steps over and kisses me.

“Ew.” Laf says in a mocking tone.

“Anyway, seeing as we almost had a potential for an epic breakdown, I think we should continue on.”

“Let’s go Mama, I want more candy!” Sophie shouts, shaking her bag as she starts to skip to the next house.

“Get going, we’ll see you guys tomorrow. I’m sorry for scaring you Soph!”

“It’s okay Laf!” She shouts back with a smile and waving. After a few more houses Jack decided he had enough and wouldn’t stop screaming his head off so Ell parted ways, soon after Sophie began her complaints and then asked if we could bring her home. Seeing as Daisy was the only child that didn’t complain the entire time we were out, naturally she wouldn’t stop crying the entire time we were inside.

“Laura?”

“Yeah?”

“Are you okay?” Carmilla quietly, lying down on her side of the bed with Daisy between us.

“Tired.”

“Sophie is successfully in bed sleeping, and with enough convincing she is out of that horrid costume.” Carmilla teases as she looks down at Daisy. “Hello little angel.” She says softly, leaning down to kiss Daisy on her forehead. “You were the cutest pumpkin I saw today, and that isn’t just because you’re my kid, well that has a lot to do with it but still.” She says, holding one of Daisy’s toys above her head, causing the baby to focus on that.

“Do you have a favorite?”

“Do you?”

“I love them both equally, but on some days I like one a little more than the other.” I say, watching her expression change. “I’m kidding. I love all three of you equally.”

“ _I’m_ involved in that topic?! I thought it was just our kids.” Carmilla says. “In that case, I love Sophie and Daisy first and you second.”

“You’re mean.” I say. Carmilla takes Daisy from her place on the bed and puts her in the bassinet before climbing back onto the bed and straddling me.

“Do you really think I could have more love for our children than I do for you? I love the three of you so much that there isn’t enough time for me to pick a favorite or think of a favorite.” She says, leaning in to kiss me. “I don’t like the idea of even playing favorites.” She whispers against my lips before kissing me again.

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“Mama!” We hear Sophie cry out. Carmilla gets off of me and walks out of the room and across to Sophie’s room. A few minutes later Carmilla walks through the door with Sophie clinging to her side, tears having stained her little red cheeks, and her Olaf doll under her arm.

“Did you have a bad dream Monkey?” I coo, taking her from Carmilla when she walks over to me.

“I dreamed that Laf’s make-up wasn’t make-up, that their face was like that.” Sophie explains as tears well up in her eyes.

“It’s okay Sweetie.” I say, wrapping my arms around her and placing her in between Carmilla and me. Sophie curls into Carmilla’s side as soon as she gets into bed.

“Goodnight Monkey.” Carmilla whispers, kissing the top of Sophie’s head. 

“Goodnight Mama.” Sophie says quietly. “Goodnight Mommy.” She says, reaching her hand behind her to take mine.

“Goodnight Sweet Pea.” I say, kissing the top of her head. “Night Carm.” I say, looking over our daughter’s head to see her smiling.

“I love you Cupcake.” She says, blowing me a kiss rather than leaning over the sleeping child between us.

“I love you too.” I say, shutting off the light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you have been reading this story or are familiar with it, you will notice this chapter is different from the original, from this chapter on I have decided to incorporate the content of Parental Guidance into this story rather than having it be two separate parts. So now it will be one continuous story line rather than two separate ones.


	23. Chapter 23

-Laura POV-

“Uhm, Sophie?” I ask, walking past her bedroom.

“Yes Mommy?” She says, looking up at me.

“What are you doing with Daisy?” I ask, walking into her room to see Daisy was sat in the middle of a circle made of stuffed animals.

“We are playing a game.” Sophie chimes as she reads from a book.

“What game would that be?”

“I’m doing magic Mommy, I have to do this right to turn Daisy into a frog.”

“Mama is not allowed to read Harry Potter to you anymore.”

“But Mommy it’s my favorite!”

“Leave your sister human and I’ll think about it.” I say, walking over to pick up Daisy.

“Okay Mommy.” Sophie sighs, taking off her witch hat. “Why is Mama at work still?”

“She had a meeting Sweetie, she should be home soon.”

“Can we make her some cookies for when she gets home?”

“We can do that.” I say, following her as she runs down the stairs and into the kitchen. She gets up on her step stool to wash her hands as I put Daisy in her highchair.

“Mommy?”

“Yes?”

“Why don’t I have a daddy?”

“Because you have two mommies.” I say, not really knowing how to answer her.

“Yeah I know, but why isn’t there a daddy?”

“Some kids have a mommy and a daddy, some kids have two mommies or two daddies. Some kids don’t have a mommy or a daddy, what matters the most is that you are being taken care of in a loving home and it doesn’t matter if you have a daddy or not because you are getting just as much love with two mommies. Why did you ask that?”

“Robby told me that having two mommies was weird again, and he said that I should have a daddy.” Sophie explains quietly. “He said that a daddy knows how to do everything, then I said that Mama knows how to do everything.”

“Do you tell Miss Lily these things?”

“Miss Lily says she talked to Mama.”

“Well Mama didn’t talk to me about it.” I say, mixing everything together.

“Is Mama in trouble?”

“Maybe.”

“Don’t get mad at Mama.”

“Mama is suppose to tell me when Miss Lily calls her, she didn’t tell me.”

“Mama’s probably really sorry though, I don’t want you to be mad at her.” Sophie says, tears threatening to fall from her eyes.

“Don’t cry Sweetie.”

“I love Mama, I don’t want you to be mad at her.” Sophie cries into the crook of my neck.

“I’m sorry Sweetie, I won’t be mad at Mama. Don’t get upset Sophie.”

“I don’t like when you get mad at Mama.” She says, pushing back slightly to look at me.

“I’m sorry. I’ll try not to get mad at Mama anymore.” I say, brushing the hair out of her face.

“Tell her how much you love her?”

“I will.”

“And tell her she’s the best Mama _ever_.”

“I will tell her she is the best Mama ever.” I chime watching Sophie smile wide.

“Good, I love you Mommy.”

“I love you too bug.”

“Mama’s home!” Sophie shouts when she hears the garage door open. “Hi Mama!” She shouts, getting out of my arms and running over to Carmilla.

“Hello Bumblebee.” Carmilla chimes, picking her up and peppering her face with kisses, before walking over to Daisy and kissing her on the top of her head. “Hey Cupcake.” She says with a smile as she walks over to give me a kiss.

“How was work?”

“It was alright, I have a nice stack of papers to grade. We have to talk.” She whispers, putting Sophie down.

“When did Miss Lily call you?”

“She called me this morning, we have a meeting scheduled with her tomorrow. Didn’t she tell you when you picked Sophie up?”

“I couldn’t get there in time I was in the middle of an article while Daisy was sleeping, Perry went to get her.”

“Oh okay, well we have a meeting with her and the boy’s parents tomorrow after school. It’s the twenty first century and kids are still getting fed homophobic bull.”

“Mama, we made you cookies!” Sophie says when the oven timer went off.

“You and Mommy made _me_ cookies? Thank you.” Carmilla says happily, kissing me on the side of my head.

“You’re welcome. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“I love you three!” Sophie chimes, running over to us and squeezing between Carmilla and I.

“We love you too little monster.” Carmilla says, picking up Sophie while I got the cookies out of the oven.

 

-Carmilla POV-

“Carm stop bouncing your leg.” Laura says, placing her hand on my knee.

“I don’t see why it should matter that our daughter has two mothers.” I say, looking over at her as we wait for Miss Lily and the other parents.

“I know. I know.”

“Sorry, I had to take a call in the office, Robby’s parents are running a little late.” Miss Lily says with a smile as she walks up to us.

“It’s okay.”

“Okay, while we wait for Robby’s parents I’d love to talk to you about Sophie.” Miss Lily chimes as she leads us into the classroom, the wall decorated with different educational posters as well as pictures drawn by the kids and toys.

“Is that black cat painting done by Sophie?” I chime, looking over to see a collection of paintings that looked like they were drying.

“It is, she says it’s her cat at home, Søren?”

“Yes ma’am, just like the philosopher.” Laura chimes.

“Well, Sophie is one of the brightest students I have.” Lily begins, sitting on one of the tables, seeing as the chairs were too small to sit in. “I really enjoy her passion she has for a four-year-old when it comes to learning.”

“She’s been that way for as long as I can remember, she would always sit with Laura or myself and we would read to her and things like that.”

“You two seem like very good parents, there’s no doubt about that. She has so much love to offer her peers and always wants to be friends with everyone. I feel bad that she is in this situation with Robby, to see her so defeated when he says those things to her it isn’t fair.”

“Sorry we’re late Miss Lily, there was a lot of traffic getting here and the sitter was late.” A woman, who I assume is Robby’s mother says as she walks through the door of the classroom, a man following close behind her. “Hello, I’m Robby’s mother Joy and this is my husband Robert.” The woman says extending her hand for Laura and I to take.

“Hi, we’re Sophie’s parents, I’m Carmilla and this is my wife Laura.” I say proudly, placing my hand on the small of Laura’s back.

“Oh.”

“Well now that you’re here let’s get to it. Robby has been saying things to Sophie that are unacceptable.” Lily begins, looking over at Robby’s parents.

“Like what?” Rob say annoyed.

“He keeps saying things about Sophie’s parents that aren’t things that should be said. He claims that it’s weird that she had two mothers and that she should have a father.”

“Yeah well, that’s how we feel, so I’m happy my kid is picking up on the way things are supposed to be.” Rob says, looking over at Laura and I.

“Excuse me, but I don’t think your child should be voicing such opinions to my child, she comes home upset and asks us questions that I shouldn’t have to explain to my child at four-years-old.” Laura says, taking my hand in hers.

“Well you shouldn’t be in a school setting flaunting the fact that you are homosexual.” Rob says, raising his voice a bit.

“Flaunting, what is flaunting, Laura and I rarely ever show up together to pick our daughter up and when we do the most we do is hold hands, if holding my wife’s hand in the twenty-first century is such a crime…” I trail off, trying not to get too mad. “My daughter shouldn’t have to feel like an outcast because she is being raised by two mothers.”

“It’s fucking gross!”

“Okay! Language Mr. Fisher.” Lily says, raising a hand, signaling him to stop. “We are still in pre-school setting and I would like for you to respect that.”

“I apologize, but my son doesn’t have to play with some girl being raised in such a way.”

“Your son still has no right to say the things he does to Sophie, it isn’t fair to her when she doesn’t understand that type of love and affection adults have towards each other. All she knows is that she has two parents that love her just as much as you and your life love your son. It shouldn’t be a manner of orientation, and such hate shouldn’t be coming from the mouth of a pre-school child.”

“Why are you teaching your child such hate anyway?” Laura asks quietly.

“Because it’s unnatural for two women or two men to raise a child, let alone be together, there is something about it that was never meant to be. Humans are meant to procreate naturally.” Joy chimes in.

“Okay, that is a stupid statement first of all, second of all if you straight people ever had a problem getting pregnant no doubt you would turn to science in order to have a child that is biologically yours. There is no reason that one of my daughter’s peers should be telling her that having two mothers is weird and that she should have a father. Whatever your personal opinions are, as adults, should be something that is kept to yourselves, and not for your child to be picking up. We are raising our child to be a loving and caring individual that doesn’t judge others.” I say calmly.

“Well I see _you_ wear the pants.” Joy jokes, getting a laugh out of Rob.

“Only because my wife is wearing a skirt today.” I tease, causing Laura and Lily to chuckle a bit. “She may wear the pants tomorrow, hell we both may wear the pants tomorrow because we work on a joint effort when it comes to parenting and being married, there isn’t one of us that is better off than the other, we are on an equal front.” I say, trying to control my anger.

“Whatever, look my kid can say whatever he wants to the faggots’ kid, I don’t really care.”

“Well then your child will have to face the consequences Mr. Fisher, this is a zero tolerance school and I will not have that type of behavior in my classroom.”

“I don’t care, are we done here? I have to go.”

“I suppose so.” Lily says, waving her hand as Rob and Joy left the room. I look over at Laura to see her crying quietly.

“Hey, hey don’t cry.” I whisper, wrapping my arms around her as she buries her face in the crook of my neck.

“Why are people so mean?”

“Because people are miserable with their own lives that they have to take it out on other people.” Lily says, walking over to her desk to get Laura the box of tissues. “He looks like he has nothing better to do than to pick on your lifestyle, he’s probably voting for Trump.”

“He probably is, dumb hillbilly.”

“If Robby says anything to her again, you can move her to my Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday afternoon group, rather than the morning, if it isn’t an inconvenience for you. Your daughter is far too smart to be put down by something she has no control over.”

“Thank you Lily, we’ll see what happens. Come on Cupcake, we have two daughters to get home to.”

“I love you.” She says quietly, glancing over at Lily to see her smiling sweetly.

“I love you too.”

“You guys want in on a secret?” Lily whispers. “My wife is never embarrassed to tell me how much she loves me in front of strangers. And this is a secret between us, no other parents know, and seeing as you are the only same sex couple who have a child in my class, I feel like I should share this with you. It hurts me to hear those things just as much as it hurts you.”

“Thank you for sharing that with us. It means a lot now that you understand 100%.”

“No problem, now like you said, you have two little ones to get home to and I have a little one to get home to as well. My offer to switch her time still stands, she shouldn’t have too much trouble transitioning.” Lily says, walking over to gather her things.

“We will let you know. Thank you.” I say, taking Laura’s hand in mine as we walk out of the building and to the car. After the short ride home, Laura and I walk into the house to find Laf and Sophie sitting in the den watching a show about science when Perry was in the kitchen with Daisy cooking, seeing as the house smelt amazing.

“Hi Mama!” Sophie says, running over to me to give me a hug before hugging Laura.

“Hey.” Laf says getting up from the couch. “How did it all go?”

“It went okay, aside from the homophobic parents of the other kid.”

“That sucks.” Laf says quietly.

“It is what it is.” I shrug, watching Laura walk into the kitchen. “As long as my daughters and wife are kept happy, I don’t care what anyone says or how much someone hates me because all that matters is that I’m happy and doing my job right by keeping my family happy.”

“And that’s all that matters Karnstein.”

“Exactly.” I say, walking over to where Laura is holding Daisy. I give Daisy a kiss on the cheek before looking at Laura with a smile and giving her a kiss on the lips.


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As of chapter 22, Parental Guidance and NYSM have become one combined storyline instead of two parts.

-Carmilla POV-

“Lupin moved closer to Ron. He seemed to be holding his breath as he gazed intently at Scabbers. ‘What?’ Ron said again, holding Scabbers close to him, looking scared. ‘What’s my rat got to do with anything?’ ‘That’s not a rat,’ croaked Sirius Black suddenly. ‘What’d you mean – of course he’s a rat –’ ‘No he’s not,’ said Lupin quietly. ‘He’s a wizard.’ ‘An Animagus,’ said Black, ‘by the name of Peter Pettigrew.’” I read, placing the bookmark in the book, earning a grunt from Sophie.

“Can you read more?” She whines, leaning her head back on my shoulder and looking up at me.

“A chapter a night Kiddo, you know that. Besides we still have four other books to read. We don’t have to rush through it.” I say, brushing her head back from her forehead.

“Is Scabbers a bad guy?”

“We’ll soon find that out.” I say, kissing her forehead before she gets down from my lap. “Go brush you teeth.”

“Okay Mama.”

“Carm quick!” I hear Laura shout from Daisy’s room, I run across the hall to find Laura sitting on the floor with a smile on her face.

“What the hell?”

“She just started walking!” Laura says excitedly.

“She’s sitting.”

“Yeah, but she walked before she sat.” Laura says with a smile. I look over at Daisy to see her smiling up at me, and then I watch as she pulls herself up as best as she can and waddle over to me, only to fall down halfway through. 

“Hey, look at that.” I chime, walking into the room and kneeling in front of Daisy. “You did it kid. You’re getting so big I don’t know what to do with myself.”

“Sophie brushing her teeth?”

“Yep, well she should be. I read her a chapter so she’s ready to be tucked in.” I say, helping Daisy to stand up.

“Okay.”

“Come on, let’s go say goodnight to Sophie.” I say, standing up and taking hold of Daisy’s hands, holding her steady as she begins to walk out of her room and across to Sophie’s room. “You’re doing it Sweetie. You’re walking.”

“Daisy can walk?” Sophie asks as she walks out of the bathroom.

“She’s getting there, soon she’ll be able to do it for herself.” Laura explains.

“She’s getting big.” Sophie chimes, walking over to give Daisy a hug. “You’re gonna be big like me soon.” She says, kissing Daisy on the cheek.

“Okay Sweetie, time for bed.”

“Goodnight Daisy.” Sophie kisses me cheek. “Goodnight mama.” She adds, walking over and standing on her tiptoes while I bend over for her to kiss me on the cheek.

“Night Bug. Sleep tight.” I call out as she skips into her room for Laura to tuck her in. “Come on Daisy, your turn for bed.” I say, picking her up and walking her back into her room. “My little girl is getting do big.” I coo, kissing the side of her head as I get her binky from the dresser, brining it to her mouth. She takes it happily. I place her in her crib and she lies down right away reaching for her favorite stuffed elephant. “My little one is getting to be a big one.” I say, running my hand over her forehead gently. “I love you.”

“Sophie is out like a light. She must have been tired.”

“She seemed to be forcing herself to really focus when I was reading Harry Potter to her.”

“Goodnight Sweet Pea.” Laura says quietly, leaning in and kissing Daisy on her forehead before making sure her blankets were covering her properly. We leave the room quietly and make our way downstairs. I walk and get my back from by the door while Laura goes into the den. I go into the den with my bag and walking over to the desk and sit down; taking out my laptop and my papers I need to grade. “What are you doing all the way over there?” Laura asks confused, I turn in the chair and look at her with a small smile. “Wanna come cuddle and see if Olivia is going to runaway with Jake this season?” She chimes, gesturing to the TV with the remote. I couldn’t resist her so I got up from the chair and walked over to her, plopping myself down next to her and putting my feet on the coffee table while wrapping my arm around her shoulder and kissing the side of her head as she cuddles into my side.

“I love you.”

“I love you too.” She whispers. I turn to her and smile as she leans in to kiss me properly. “I want another one.”

“Another one what?”

“I want another baby. I want to have one more.”

“You want to try for one more?”

“Yeah, maybe we can start in another couple of years.” Laura chimes, placing her hand on my chest.

“How about when Daisy is in school? I don’t think we’ll be able to balance everything if we tried now.”

“Okay. So.”

“So?” I ask, cocking an eyebrow and smirking as she smiles as me and straddles me. “Oh I see what you’re doing.”

“No, this is just to get your attention.”

“And why do you need my attention?”

“I need to tell you something.” She says in between kisses.

“Okay.”

“Lilita called and is coming over this weekend with your dad.” She says quietly.

“Oh.” I say pulling back. “And why did you need to seduce me for that?” I say, seeing as Lilita and I have been getting along for a long time now. She had been there through a lot of things, especially after Daisy was born.

“There’s more. I may have told everyone to come over for dinner this weekend.”

“Who exactly is everyone?”

“Oh, you know… My dad, Sadie, your parents, Laf, Perry, Kirsch, Danny, Ell and John, of course baby Jack…”

“And when were you going to tell me about this?”

“Uhm, well I was going to tell you when I planned it, but then you had papers to grade, and I had work to do, it slipped my mind until I talk to Perry this afternoon and she reminded me.”

“I hate gatherings.”

“I know you do, but we haven’t seen everyone in a long time.” Laura says, placing her hand on my thigh.

“You lost your seduction credibility Cupcake.” I chime, leaning in to kiss her as she moves her hand from my thigh and sighs. “I’ll enjoy the day for the sake of my girls

“That’s all I ask.” Laura says with a smile before kissing me on my cheek and turning her attention back to the TV. 

* * *

“Mama.” Sophie says as she walks into the kitchen.

“Yes Lovebug?” I ask, helping Perry chop vegetables for whatever it is she was cooking.

“Nana’s gonna be here soon right?”

“She should be here any minute, why?”

“I miss Nana, and Papa. I see Grampa all the time, and Grammy Sadie too, but not Nana and Papa.” She explains, rubbing her eyes.

“I know you do sweetie, but I told you, nana and papa are very busy, that’s why we don’t see them as much.” I explain, patting the top of her head.

“Okay, can I help you?” She chimes, standing on her toes to see when I was doing on the counter.

“No right now bug, you can go watch TV while we wait for everyone else.” I say, watching her bow her head.

“Oh, okay.” She says quietly before going off into the den.

“What’s wrong sweetie?” I hear Laura say as she walks into the kitchen.

“Mama’s helping Auntie Perry and I’m not allowed to help her.”

“We told you Sweetheart, when there are other adults here, some of the rules change because we don’t want you getting hurt in the shuffle.” Laura says, crouching down to be at eye-level with Sophie.

“I know Mommy.” Sophie says, wrapping her arms around Laura and whispering something in her ear.

“I know Honey, everything will be okay, go get extra TV time before grampa and papa get here and put on sports.” She says, ushering Sophie to the den. Laura walks over to me, and smiles. “That kid looks like me but shares your soul.”

“She doesn’t like that we have people coming over?”

“She hates it. She’d rather spend all day on Mama’s lap reading Harry Potter and eating cookies.” Laura says, wrapping her arms around me from behind and kissing my cheek.

“Which is what we would be doing on this fine Autumn Sunday, but we are subjected to company.”

“I love you.” Laura sings, leaning in to kiss me. “Be good and you’ll be rewarded later.” She whispers in my ear before kissing me on the sensitive spot just behind it.

“You don’t play fair.” I whine, kissing her again before she disappears into the den. I look over to see Laf standing next to Perry with a smile on their face.

“You are so whipped it isn’t even funny.” They chime before taking a sip from their beer bottle.

“Yeah, shut up.” I snap, glairing at both of them before walking out of the kitchen and into the den to find Sophie standing under the TV looking up at it.

“Mama.”

“What’s wrong?” I ask, walking into the room picking her up.

“I couldn’t find the remote, I don’t wanna watch this.”

“What do you want to watch then?”

“I dunno. I just don’t want to watch this.” She says, looking up at me as I sit down next to her.

“Well if you don’t pick soon, Grampa and Papa will be here to change the channel.” I say, putting on something else she may like, as she crawls over to me on the couch.

“I don’t want them here all day.”

“I know Sweetie.” I say, running my fingers through her hair. “They’ll be here and gone before we know it.”

“Are you still going to read two chapters to me later?” She says, sitting down again and looking at the TV.

“Of course I am, my little witch.” I chime, tickling her sides, laughing as she squirms a bit and giggles.

“Mama, stop it.” She says through a fit of laughter. “You’re silly Mama.” She says when I stop tickling her. “I love you Mama.”

“I love you too Bumblebee.” I say, kissing her on the cheek.

“Where is my little grandbaby?” Lilita chimes as she walks through the door.

“Nana’s here.” Sophie chimes, getting off of the couch and going to the foyer. “Hi Nana!” She chimes.

“Hello Sophie! You’re getting so big.” Lilita says as I walk into the room. “Hello Carmilla.” She says, looking at me with a smile as Sophie wraps her arms around Lilita’s legs.

“Hello Mother.” I say, taking the plate from her hands. “Where’s Dad?”

“He’ll be in soon, Sherman pulled up the same time we did.” She says, rolling her eyes a bit.

“Hi Lilita.” Laura says, walking down the stairs with Daisy on her hip.

“Hello Laura, oh my, she is getting big.” Lilita says, holding out her arms for Laura to pass off Daisy. “Oh, your father pulled up behind us, just so you know.”

“Thank you.” Laura says with a smile.

“Hello, hello!” My dad says, walking through the door with Sherman and Sadie behind him.

“We all show up at the same time.” Sherman jokes with a smile as Sophie tries to hug everyone at the same time. After Danny and Kirsch showed up with their little boy, and Ell and her family, I made my way up to my office to hide out for a little bit after I felt the need to finish socializing after dinner.

“You can’t stay in here forever.” Laura says quietly, closing the door behind her.

“Why not?”

“Because you can’t do that to me and Sophie, Daisy likes the attention. But I don’t think you should do that to Sophie.” Laura says, walking over and sitting on my lap.

“Yeah, but Sophie missed her grandparents enough to be distracted.”

“That’s true.” Laura says with a small smile. “Besides, we ate already, and were down there long enough. Everyone is just loitering now.”

“That’s true, but they are loitering in close proximity to our children.”

“Whatever shall we do in the privacy of our home office?”

“Hmm, I don’t know Cutie.” I tease, kissing her sweetly. Laura pulls back and smiles at me sweetly. “What?” I chime, not being able to hold back my smile.

“You haven’t called me Cutie in a long time.”

“Well you still are my cutie.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.” I smile, moving my hands under her shirt and scratching down her abdomen, resulting in a moan from Laura.

“Mama!” I hear Sophie cry out from the hallway, causing Laura to nearly jump off of me and rush to the sound of Sophie crying.

“What’s wrong Sweetie?”

“Mommy, Mama.” She says, rushing over to us. 

“What’s wrong Bug?” Laura asks, picking her up into a hug.

“I couldn’t find you and Mama, no one knew where you were. I want everyone to go home.” She explains, wiping her eyes with the back of her hands. I walk into the bathroom and grab her a tissue. “Thank you Mama.”

“You’re welcome Sweetie.” I say, taking the used tissue and throwing it away.

“Can everyone go home now Mommy?”

“Yeah, I think it’s time everyone goes.” Laura says, brushing the hair out of Sophie’s face. She kisses her on the cheek before walking downstairs.

“Everyone’s leaving Mama, now we can read!” Sophie calls out with a smile as Laura walks downstairs with her.

“After you get cleaned up and in pajamas.”

“I know Mama.” She says as Laura places her on the floor at the bottom of the stairs. “Bye-bye everybody, Mama and Mommy say it’s time for you to go home. Mama’s gonna read two chapters to me and it’s getting late!” She says forwardly, holding up two fingers to make a point of the chapters.

“Sophie, that wasn’t nice.”

“Sorry Mama.” She says quietly, bowing her head.

“It’s okay, say goodnight to everyone and don’t forget extra kisses to your grandparents.” I whisper in her ear, watching as she makes her way around the room, telling Laf and Perry she’ll see them tomorrow and everyone else she’ll see later.

“We love you Munchkin.” Lilita says kissing her on the cheek and giving her a tight hug.

“Be good for your parents Sweetheart.” My dad says, rustling her hair.

“I will, I love you.” She chimes, giving them a big smile before running over to Sherman and Sadie. “Bye-bye Grammy and Grampa.” She says with a wide smile. “I love you.”

“We love you two little one, we’ll see you again soon.” Sherman says, picking her up and kissing her cheek. “We still have to build your swing set.”

“And the tree house.” She whispers in his ear, although it wasn’t much of a whisper.

“We still have to see what your mommies think about that.”

“Okay. Bye Grammy.” Sophie says, reaching out of Sherman’s arms and over to Sadie. After everyone finally left, we made sure to clean up a bit, thankfully Perry insisted on cleaning as the night went on and there wasn’t much as a mess. Laura locked everything and shut off all the lights before coming upstairs with Daisy on her hip.

“Carm?” She calls out from the landing.

“Yes Cutie?” I say with a smirk, poking my head out from our bedroom to see her smiling.

“You want Daisy tonight or Sophie?” She asks, walking over to me.

“I promised Sophie two chapters of The Prisoner of Azkaban. It may be easier to get her changed and stay with her rather than switch off, but you get tucking in.” I say, wrapping an arm around her and placing my hand in Daisy’s back.

“Okay.” Laura says, leaning in to kiss me. “I still want to _play_ later.” She whispers in my ear huskily.

“Are you going to play a game without me?” Sophie asks, walking out of the bathroom with her hands in her hips. “When I go to bed you’re gonna play a game?”

“No Sweetie, we aren’t going to play any game.”

“Then what did you mean Mommy?”

“It means that Mama and I have to work on a Play. Mama is doing the play at her school, she has to write something for it and needs help.” Laura explains, placing her hand on the top of Sophie’s head.

“S-M-O-O-T-H.” I spell out, raising my eyebrows.

“Why you spell smooth Mama?”

“Okay! Who wants to listen to the next chapter of Harry Potter?” I ask, clapping my hands together once to break up the tension that seemed to be building.

“Me!” Sophie says, scurrying off into her room. “Come on Mama!”

“Our daughter is _way_ to bright for her age.” Laura says quietly.

“Says her mother who said I was working on a Play.” I tease, trying to hold back the laughter.

“I had to think fast.”

“I know, but we will, you know.” I say with a wink before kissing her sweetly. “Goodnight Sweetie, you look like you’re going to pass out any minute.” I say, looking as Daisy struggle to keep her eyes open as she rests her head on Laura’s shoulder.

“Oh if she does that gives me time to finish the article that’s due tomorrow.”

“Mama! Let’s go!”

“Duty calls.” I say, kissing Laura again. “Goodnight mini me.” I say, kissing Daisy on the top of her head. I walk into Sophie’s room to see her sitting on her bed, her back against the wall at the head of her bed with the book in her hand.

“I’m ready.” She chimes with a smile, trying to pull the covers our from under her in order to get into the bed. “Come on Mama, two chapters.” She says impatiently.

“I know, I know.” I say, walking over and sitting next to her in the bed. “Ready?” I ask, looking down at her as I open the book to see her smiling wide and nodding. “Okay.” I say, clearing my throat.


	25. Chapter 25

-Laura POV-

“Okay, Sophie is in bed by eight, eight-thirty if you feel like pushing it or if you’re reading to her, no later than that. Daisy is usually the same time, but if she didn’t nap get her in bed by seven, seven-thirty, but she will most likely nap. Emergency numbers are on the fridge, you know where all the food is and I’m pretty sure you’ll just cook up a storm for the next couple of days. I think that’s it, oh make sure the office door is closed at all times, Daisy got in there the other day and colored over some of the papers Carmilla had graded, needless to say her students though it was funny and appreciated scribbles rather than coffee stains.”

“Laura, everything will be fine, we need to go now.”

“Go Mommy, have fun with Mama.”

“I love you sweetie.” I say, kissing Sophie on the cheek before kissing Daisy. “Be good.”

“I will have everything under control.” Perry informs with a smile.

“What about Laf?”

“All they’re good for is keeping the kids entertained.”

“If Laf blows up my house I will kill them!”

“I will kill them too, so when they get here let them know. Okay I’m going now, Sophie be good for Auntie Perry.”

“Bye-bye Mommy.” Sophie waves. I give both girls one last kiss before walking out the door and to the car where Carmilla is waiting with the passenger door open.

“I though we were never going to leave.”

“I’m going to miss them.”

“I will too, but it’s just for the weekend and we’re just going to the city. We need time to ourselves cupcake. You make it seem like we’re dropping them off at boarding school and running away.” She teases, taking my hand in hers and intertwining our fingers before bringing the back of my hand up to her lips and kissing it. “We’re going to enjoy the next couple of days, kid free.”

“I know, but it’s not like we’re leaving home teenagers, they’re still babies. And Sophie isn’t going to want Perry or Laf to read to her, so it’ll be a pain to get her to bed, and then if Daisy doesn’t go to sleep then it will _really_ be a nightmare.”

“Calm down Cupcake. You’re worrying too much.”

“I’m sorry.”

“We don’t have to do this now if you don’t want to. If you’d rather go home to the girls I wouldn’t argue with you.”

“No we’ll go…”

“I don’t want to go if you’re going to worry about the girls the entire time, it takes away from us just being together.” Carmilla says trying not to sound annoyed.

“I’m sorry.”

“So you don’t want to go?” Carmilla asks as she looks over at me while we’re stopped at red light, I shake my head no and hear her sigh. “Okay. Can we at least have a nice dinner alone? Seeing as we’re already out.”

“That would be nice.”

“I miss the city.”

“I know you do. I know it isn’t enough for you to just work there; we’ll get there. We should go one weekend as a family. Sophie would like to see the big tree in Rockefeller Plaza. It would be fun to teach her how to ice skate…” I say, watching Carmilla smile slightly.

“I’d like that idea. It would be nice to do that after her birthday. Maybe take her to one of the toy stores and let her get something she wants as a gift.”

“That sounds perfect.” I say, leaning over the center console to kiss her on the cheek. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” After a few more minute of driving, Carmilla pulls up to a Japanese restaurant that we have never been to before. “I saw this place when I was coming home one day, I thought we could try it out.”

“I could go for some sushi.” I chime, getting out of the car. We walk in and the hostess sits up at a small quiet table. We ordered and enjoyed each other’s company, sharing small smiles and light touches from across the table. Halfway through the meal Carmilla looks up at me, and smile. “What?”

“I miss the girls.”

“I knew you would.”

“I knew I would miss them, but I didn’t think I would miss them as much as I do. It feels weird to be eating somewhere without Sophie talking to us the whole time.”

“Well, we aren’t going to have alone time for a while then.”

“I don’t think so.” Carmilla says with a smile. “We should take a family vacation. I know I said the city thing earlier, but that we can do all the time.”

“Where do you want to go then?”

“Let’s take them to like Disney or something like that.”

“I like that idea.” I smile. “I think Sophie would like that very much.”

“Maybe that can be part of her birthday present? It would be a nice surprise for a five-year-old.”

“It would be.” I chime. We finish up our dinner and go home. We pull into the drive way and see that the house seems to be fairly dark and quiet.

“It’s only seven thirty.” Carm says. “It seems too quiet.” She gets out of the car first and I soon follow we open the door and are greeted with the sounds of both Sophie and Daisy crying. Carm and I look at each other before rushing off to different areas of the house. Carmilla goes upstairs, where Daisy’s cries are coming from, and I walk the short distance to the den where I see Perry trying to calm down Sophie.

“What’s wrong Pumpkin?”

“Mommy.” Sophie says, breaking free of Perry’s embrace and running over to me. “I missed you Mommy, I don’t want you to go anywhere ever again.”

“It’s okay Sweetie, we won’t.” I say, picking her up and rubbing her back soothingly.

“What happened?” Perry asks quietly.

“We decided not to go.”

“Well thank goodness for that.”

“Was it bad?”

“It was fine until now, once we said it was time to get ready for bed Sophie started freaking out and Daisy just follow suit.” Perry explains with a sigh. “We tried.”

“You did and I don’t blame you, thank you though. At least Carm and I were able to get a decent dinner alone together in for once.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Mommy, where’s Mama?” Sophie asks, burying her face into the crook of my neck.

“She went to calm down Daisy. Come on, let’s get you upstairs and changed.” I say, walking with her up to her room.

“Is Mama gonna read me a chapter?”

“We’ll ask her after you’re changed.” I kiss her on the cheek.

“Okay mommy. Bye-bye Laf.”

“Bye-bye little one. We had fun right?” Laf asks as they meet us at the top of the stairs.

“So much fun, but I missed my Mommy and Mama.”

“I know you did, sleep tight and be good.” They say, giving Sophie a high-five. “See you later L.”

“Thanks Laf.” I smile as they walk downstairs, soon after that I hear Perry and Laf both call out their goodbyes as they leave the house.

“Mommy I don’t feel good.” Sophie whines as I place her in her bed.

“What’s wrong?” I feel her forehead with the back of my hand. “You feel warm. Wanna sleep with me and Mama?”

“Can I Mommy?”

“Of course you can. Come on, let’s get changed and grab your book. Mama can read in our bed.” I say, walking over to her dresser and getting Sophie her pajamas. After a few minutes of Sophie’s bedtime routine, I’m carrying her into my room; we walk in to see Daisy sitting on Carmilla’s lap, and Carmilla reading her a Dr. Seuss book.

“Mama you’re supposed to read to me.” Sophie whines, holding up the Harry Potter book they were currently reading.

“Daisy felt warm, I just brought her in here to read to, once she falls asleep I’ll read to you.” Carmilla says, looking down at Daisy who was nearly out.

“Mommy said I can sleep in your bed cause I don’t feel good too.” Sophie explains as she wedges herself between Carmilla and I.

“Okay Bumblebee.” Carmilla kisses Sophie on the top of her head before carefully taking Daisy in her arms and walking the sleeping child to her room. “Okay, ready for some Harry Potter?”

“Here Mama.” Sophie chimes holding the book out to Carmilla.

“Thank you Sweet Pea.”

“You’re welcome Mama.”

 

\- Carmilla POV-

I wake up to something nudging me in the ribcage. I open my eyes to see Sophie taking up the width of the bed between my side and Laura’s, her head on Laura’s side and her feet kicking me. I turn more to realize that Laura isn’t in bed and look at the clock to see it’s nearly five in the morning. With a sigh I get out of bed and walk out into the hallway, looking down the hall to see the light in Daisy’s room was on. “Everything okay?”

“She was crying, I came to check on her and she was sweating, I think she has a fever.” Laura sighs as she rocks with Daisy in the rocking chair. “I changed her into something light and she seems to have cooled down. Then again she may have another tooth coming in.”

“Do you want one of her rags from the freezer?” I say with a yawn.

“You don’t have to, go back to bed.”

“I’m already up Cupcake. It’s no problem.”

“Thank you.” She smiles softly as I walk away. I come back into the room and hand the frozen washcloth to Daisy; she takes it, looking at it for a second before chewing on it.

“There we go, that help Sweetie?” I place my hand on the top of her head for a moment causing Daisy to look up at me, and chuckle. “Nothing makes her happier than waking us up in the early morning.”

“She is the only person that can get you up before dawn.” Laura teases.

“Yeah, I know.”

“ _I_ could never even do that.”

“I know.” I smile.

“You like when Mama is up before the sun?” Laura bounces Daisy on her knee.

“If waking up before daylight means I get to see this little one smile and give her my undivided attention, then I will do it as much as I have to.” I say, walking over and taking Daisy in my arms.

“It’s hard sometimes, isn’t it?”

“Giving the right amount of attention to both of them I find to be very hard. Especially because I’m not home with them as much.”

“I know Sweetie.”

“Next semester I think I’m only going to do Tuesdays and Thursdays, I’m not gonna go in all week.”

“Whatever you want to do Carm, I’m all for it.” Laura chimes, getting up from the chair and walking over to me.

“If I do that, you might have to do bedtime for them both…”

“We’ll talk about then when it’s time to.” Laura kisses me softly. “I love you. I’m going to make coffee, seeing as the other monster will be up in another couple of hours, no point in going back to sleep.”

“Okay. Come on little one.” I say, kissing Daisy on the side of her head as I follow Laura downstairs. Seeing I am I never up before the sun, it was nice to look out the kitchen windows and actually watch the sun come up for the first time ever.

“We’ve always watched sunsets, but never sunrises.” Laura whispers in my ear as she walks up behind me and wraps her arms around my waist.

“I like sunsets better.”

“Of course you do.” She kisses my cheek. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” Soon we hear the pitter patter of feet coming down the stairs.

“Morning Mama! You’re up early!” Sophie chimes as she runs over to fill up Søren’s food bowl, petting him softly when he runs over to her. “Morning Søren.” She walks over to where Daisy is sat in her highchair. “Morning Daisy.” She kisses her sister on the cheek. “Morning Mommy.”

“Good morning Sweetie.”

“Mama why are you up early?” I bend over to pick her up. “How come you and Mommy weren’t in your bed either?”

“Daisy woke up early and I went to help her, then mama heard us and came to see what was going on. You were sleeping like a log Soph.”

“Oh, okay. Can you make French toast Mama?”

“I’ll see what I can do. Want to help?”

“Yeah.” I put her back on the floor.

“Go wash up, I’ll get everything we need.”

“Okay Mama.”

“Do you want to tell her about D-I-S-N-E-Y?” Laura asks as she fixes me another cup of coffee. I shake my head no.

“Not yet.”

“What are you talking about? Why are you spelling Disney?” Sophie cocks her head to the side looking at Laura and I curiously for a moment before her face changes to pure excitement. “Are we going to Disney?”

“Uhm, maybe.” I cave, looking over at Laura to see her roll her eyes.

“Really? When are we going?”

“We have to still plan the trip to go sweet pea, it won’t be for a couple of weeks, but we will go.” Laura explains.

“Okay Mommy, thank you, thank you, thank you!” She runs over and tries her best to hug Laura and I at the same time.

“You know, for going on five, you’re practically a genius.”

“I know how to spell all words Mama, and Disney on of the Frozen box, when the movie starts there’s the magic castle in the beginning of the movie and then Disney comes out on the bottom.” She explains excitedly. “We get to see the magic castle, right? All the princesses, and princes too? Oh and Mickey Mouse!”

“Yes sweetie, all of it, you can help us plan it all out too okay?” Laura says, brushing the curly hair out of Sophie’s face.

“Okay Mommy.”

“Alright ready to help with breakfast?”

“Yes Mama.”


	26. Chapter 26

-Carmilla POV-

“Mama?” Sophie asks as she walks over to where Laura and I are sat on the couch watching TV.

“Yes Monkey?”

“When are we going to Disney?”

“We told you Sweetie, after Christmas. We can’t go before Christmas because we already have plans to go to Grampa’s house and on Christmas Eve we have to go to Nana’s house.”

“Okay.”

“Why do you torment our child?”

“Torment is such a strong term. I’d rather call it tease to no end.”

“So torment.”

“I suppose.” I say, wrapping my arm around her shoulder.

“You’re an ass hole.”

“Mommy you said a bad word.” Sophie says from the entryway of the den.

“Yeah Mommy, you said a bad word.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Really sorry?” Sophie asks, walking over to us.

“Really super extra sorry.” Laura says, pulling her into her lap and kissing her on the side of the head.

“Good. I looked at the map mama, and I wanna see all the princesses first. Then we can do anything else.” Sophie says, holding up the map of the magic kingdom we printed out for her. “And we have to take a picture in front of the Magic Castle.”

“Yes Princess Sophie, whatever you like we will do it, we are going to be there for a whole week. We have so much to do.” Laura says.

“Okay Mommy.”

“We’re going to have a lot of fun, right?”

“Yes we are Mama. Even Daisy will have fun!”

“Yes she will little one.” I say, kissing the top of her head.

“I have a question.” Sophie chimes, looking between Laura and I.

“Okay.” Laura says.

“Are you gonna have another baby?”

“Not today, or tomorrow. Not for a long time, but mama and I have talked about it. Why?”

“I liked when Daisy was teeny weeny, I don’t like that she’s getting big so fast.” Sophie sighs.

“We don’t like it either Sweet Pea, you and your sister are getting so big so fast.” Laura says sadly. Looking over at me on the verge of slight tears.

“Don’t cry Mommy, I’ll still love you when I’m big.” Sophie carefully gets to her feet and wraps her arms around Laura’s neck, kissing her on the cheek.

“I know you will Sophie.”

“I’ll love you too Mama.”

“I sure hope so.” I say, wrapping my arms around Sophie, pulling her in for a hug and kiss. “I think it’s time for you to get ready for bed Sweetie.”

“But Mama.” Sophie whines, getting down from the couch.

“No but’s ladybug, you have to get upstairs.”

“Fine.”

“I’ll grab Daisy.” Laura says, walking over to her playpen.

“Okay Monkey, what’s on the schedule for tonight?” I ask, walking into Sophie’s room to see her sitting in the middle of her bed.

“We are on the fourth book Mama. We’re almost to the part with the dragon like you said.”

“That’s right, you’re very smart.”

“You tell me that all the time Mama, and so does Mommy.”

“Because we’re proud that you’re so smart.” I say, sitting next to her in her bed.

“Is it good to be smart?”

“It is sweetie, don’t feel like it’s bad to be smart. No matter what anyone says, you are one of the smartest little girls in the world.” I kiss the top of her head.

“Thank you Mama, I love you.”

“I love you too Bug.”

 

-Laura POV-

“Are they asleep?” I ask as Carmilla walks into the bedroom and flops onto the bed.

“Sophie made it through a chapter and a half before passing out, and I just checked in on Daisy and she was out like a light I’m assuming, she wasn’t up at all.” She explains, looking up at me with a smile as she rests her head on my stomach. “All the baby talk makes me want one sooner.”

“You know we aren’t in the right place to have another baby yet.” I say, running my hand through her hair.

“I know.”

“So about Disney…”

“What about it?” She asks, getting off of the bed and walking over to the dresser to change. “We already made the plan and Sophie is going to be so surprised, not only that, but we’ll actually have a little time to ourselves too.”

“I know that, I’m happy my dad and Sadie agreed to come, I think he wants to propose to her in a cheesy manor anyway.”

“Whoa, Cal is really going to pop the question?” She asks, turning around to face me with a smile on her face.

“I guess so.”

“Are you okay with it?”

“Of course I am, I mean they’ve been together for so long, Sophie’s four now, so that means they’ve been together what, six years?”

“Give or take yeah.”

“I just feel like it really solidifies my mother being gone, you know?” I rest my head on her shoulder as she wraps her arm around me protectively.

“I know cupcake, bit your dad is still young, it’s not like he’s eighty-years-old marrying someone, he’s only fifty, and Sadie is still young and probably doesn’t want to keep not being married to him…” She kisses my forehead. “It will be okay, and I know Sophie will be excited to be the potential flower girl.”

“She will be excited.” I chime, looking up at Carmilla, resting my chin on her chest. “I love you.”

“I love you too Cupcake, you know that.”

“I just like hearing it.”

“I know.” She smiles, brushing the hair out of my face. “Everything will be okay Laura, your father deserves to be happy with Sadie like he was with your mother.”

“I know he does. I wish the girls could have met my mother. She would have loved them and they would have loved her.”

“She would have been the best grandmother the girls could have asks for, that much is certain. But we can admit that Sadie is just as amazing of a grandmother figure for the girls.”

“Yeah, she is.” I smile, only to frown seconds later at the sound of Daisy crying through the baby monitor.

“I got her.” Carm says, kissing the top of my head before rolling out of bed. “Little one wanted her Mommy.” Carmilla says as she walks in with Daisy in her arms.

“Little one always wants Mommy.” I chime, taking Daisy from her arms and placing her on my lap and kissing the top of her head. “She feels warm Carm.”

“She does.” Carm says, placing her hand on Daisy’s forehead before Daisy goes into a little coughing fit. “We’re in for a long night cupcake.”

“Hopefully it won’t be as long as we think.” I say as I lie her down in the middle of the pillows between Carmilla and I. “Get her some medicine out of the bathroom please.”

“Yes ma’am.”

“You have a good mama Daisy.” I whisper, kissing her forehead. “You actually have two good mothers, I just didn’t want to brag.”

“The last time we have her this grape crap she nearly spit it all over me.” Carmilla says, walking over and tossing the box on the bed and placing a sippy-cup on the bedside table. “You can give it to her.”

“You have to hold her at least.”

“Ugh, fine.” She gets onto her side of the bed and pull Daisy into her lap facing me. “If she spits on me, I’m sleeping on the couch.”

“She’s not going to spit on you.” I say as I dose the medicine. “Get her cup ready, what’s in it?”

“Apple juice.”

“There we’ll be good. Okay on three. 1-2-3.” I give Daisy the medicine and Carm puts the cup to her lips. She takes a sip of juice and whimpers a bit before making a face.

“Yucky!”

“Of course her first word would be that of disgust.” Carmilla says, brushing her hair from her face.

“It’s still her first word either way. Can you say mommy Daisy? Mom-my.”

“No.” Daisy says, drinking from her cup.

“And there we have it. Karnstein doesn’t want to talk.” Carmilla teases, kissing Daisy on the top of her head.

“Well isn’t she just like her Mama.”

“She is, although her precursor to liking cookies is all your fault.”

“She got that addiction in the womb, just like Sophie.”

“I’m going to take out stock in cookie companies soon.”

“At least we’ll make money.” I tease, lying back on my pillow, watching at Carmilla situated Daisy between us, resting her head on the yellow pillow we kept in the middle.

“Yeah, yeah.” Carmilla rolls her eyes as she lies down and faces me.

“I love you.” I say, looking at Daisy to see she was falling asleep. 

“I love you too.”

 

-Carmilla POV-

“Mama! Mama! Look at the castle!” Sophie shouts excitedly, patting the top if my head as she sit on my shoulders.

“I know Sweetie, don’t give Mama a concussion.” I say, patting her legs.

“Sorry Mama.”

“It’s okay Monkey.” I look over to see Laura with a big smile on her face as she pushes Daisy in her stroller. “You alright?” I ask, reaching for Laura’s hand.

“I am perfect.” She says, leaning over to kiss me on the cheek.

“Can we take a picture Mama? Grampa! Can you take a picture?” Sophie asks, turning to Sherman.

“Sure can Sweet Pea.” Sherman says with a smile.

“Come on Mama, I want a picture with the castle behind us.”

“Okay Kid. Let Mommy get Daisy out of the stroller first.”

“Can I get down after?”

“When we get to the princesses, or you’ll get tired.”

“Okay Mama.” Once Laura has Daisy out of her stroller, we walked over to the spot, listening to Sherman’s queues as to where to stand in order to get the picture right. I wrap my arm around Laura’s waist as she rests Daisy on her hip.

“I love you.” I say quietly in Laura’s ear, causing her to look at me with a wide smile.

“I love you too.” She says quietly, leaning in to kiss me.

“Perfect girls!” Sherman says, handing Laura back her phone.

“Thank you dad.” Laura says, looking at her phone and setting the picture as her background. “I’ll send you the picture later.”

“Thank you.” I kiss her sweetly.

“Come on Mama! You can smooch Mommy later.”

“You heard the kid.” Laura says, putting Daisy back in her stroller before we begin walking through the park.

“Mama can we go on a ride?”

“What ride Monkey?”

“The carousel!”

“Away we go.” I say, walking towards the carousel. The day went by rather quickly, Sophie took pictures with every character she ran into, while Daisy got excited over the lollipop the size of her head. Sherman and Sadie enjoy each other’s company while also allowing Laura and I to have some time together alone while we went on the more adult rides. By the time we got back to the hotel room, the girls were fast asleep, both clutching their new dolls they were allowed to get at the gift shop, Sophie wanted a Princess Elsa doll, while Daisy cried if we didn’t get her the Buzz Lightyear one.

“They’re finally asleep.” Laura says as she walks out onto the balcony where I’m sitting.

“They were asleep when we got here.” I chime as she walks over and sits on my lap.

“But they’re dead asleep, nothing will wake them up now.”

“I think you’re tired cupcake, you should go to bed.”

“I don’t wanna.” She whines, resting her head on my shoulder and kissing my cheek. “I enjoyed the day though. Thank you.”

“Anything for you and the girls, you know that.” I say, rubbing circles on her back.

“You’re an amazing wife.”

“I know.”

“My dad’s proposing tonight.” Laura whispers.

“Good for him. Are you okay with that?”

“Of course I am, I want him to be happy. He deserves to be happy.”

“And that’s all that matters.” I say, kissing her forehead and holding her tight.

“Yeah.”

“Are you okay Cupcake?”

“I miss being home. As much as I know the girls are having fun, I miss our bed and our house.”

“I miss it too Sweetie. We’ll be home before you know it. Cuddled up in our cozy bed and screwing like two horny teenagers.”

“You’re a horny teenager.”

“You have your moments of want and need Cupcake, don’t act like you’re some kind of angel.”

“I never said I was.” She chimes with a naughty smile as she moved to straddle me. Laura takes my face in her hands and kissing me softly while I wrap my hands around her. Just as things began to get heated we were interrupted.

“Mama?”

“Yes Sweetie?” I say as Laura gets off of me and walks over to the door.

“What’s wrong Monk?” She asks, picking Sophie up.

“I had a weird dream and you weren’t in the other bed. I got scared.” Sophie says, clutching her Elsa doll.

“We’re never too far away sweetie. You know that.” I say, getting up and walking over to kiss her on the cheek as I pick her up. “Why don’t we go back to sleep?”

“Are you going to stay?”

“Of course, Mama and I should get some sleep too.” 

“Okay Mommy.”

* * *

“So Sadie is going to be my grandma?” Sophie asks when Sherman makes the announcement at breakfast.

“That’s right Sweetie.” Laura says.

“Can I be the flower girl at the wedding? My friend was a flower girl at her aunt’s wedding. She got to wear a pretty dress.”

“You can be the flower girl Sweetie.” Sadie chimes with a smile.

“Yay, I want a blue dress like Princess Elsa!”

“We’ll see about that Monkey.” I say. “Finish eating.” 

“Okay Mama.” Sophie says, stabbing into her waffle pieces.

* * *

“I love you.” Laura whispers in my ear when she walks up behind me and wraps her arms around my waist.

“I love you too Cupcake.”

“Thank you for a wonderful vacation.”

“Anything for my girls.”

“Mama no go.” Daisy says as Sherman starts taking our luggage out of the room.

“We have to go home Monkey. Don’t you miss your things?”

“I miss home Mama, but I like it here too. Can we come here again?” Sophie chimes, jumping on the bed one last time.

“We’ll see Sweetheart.” I say, grabbing her off of the bed.

“Okay Mama. Thank you for all the fun.”

“You’re welcome Bumblebee.” I say, kissing her cheek before putting her down.

“Can I sit next to Grampa on the plane ride?”

“You have to sit next to me and Mommy.”

“Why?”

“Because those are the rules, Grampa and Sadie are allowed to sit next to each other because that’s the seats they bought, mama and I bought seats so that you, me, Daisy, and mama can sit together.”

“Okay Mommy.”

“You can watch your movie though.”

“Thanks Mommy.” Sophie chimes, wiggling out of my arms. The plane ride home consisted of Daisy screaming her head off nearly the entire time, and Sophie humming ‘Let it Go’ for two hours. When we finally get home and into the house, Sophie runs upstairs to her room to greet all of the stuffed animals she has. Laura put Daisy in her crib seeing that Daisy managed to fall asleep on the way home. The first thing I did was shower and get into something clean before throwing myself on my bed and curling up with Laura’s yellow pillow, savoring in the softness before it was violently pulled out from under my head.

“Cupcake, why did you do that?”

“Because, you’re going to fall asleep and leave me to unpack everything.”

“It’s early yet, we should all shower and take a nap.”

“Sophie isn’t going to want to take a nap.”

“Well we should bathe her at least.”

“You just said we, so get up.” Laura says, hitting me with the pillow. I watch as she walks around to my side of the bed and I grab her by the waist, pulling her on top of me. “Carm.” She whines with a laugh as I start kissing her playfully. “You’re a pain in the ass.”

“I know, but you love me.”

“I do.”

“Mommy, I’m hungry.” Sophie says, walking into our room.

“How about Mama gives you a bath and I’ll go order some Chinese food.”

“Okay, come on Mama!” Sophie says, pulling me out of bed. After giving Sophie a bath, she and I went downstairs to meet Laura in the kitchen where she was setting out the food that was delivered. Sophie and I sit down at the table while Laura runs upstairs to get Daisy when she starts crying. “I liked Disney, but I missed being home.” Sophie says with a mouth full of chicken.

“So did I Monk.” I say, kissing the side of her head. “I love you.”

“I love you too Mama.”


	27. Chapter 27

-Carmilla POV-

“Mama look!” Sophie says, rushing into the living room.

“What’s wrong Monkey?”

“I lost my tooth. The one that was all wiggly.” The seven-year-old exclaims, holding the tooth up in her hand.

“Did Mommy take your picture already?”

“How did you know?”

“Mama knows everything. But I want one too.” I say, picking up my phone. “Smile.”

“I have to go put it under my pillow to get money from the tooth fairy!”

“That’s true, go put it under there so you don’t lose it again.”

“Okay Mama.” Sophie says, running up the stairs. I look up at Laura and smile when she walks into the room, wrapping my arms around her when she comes and sits on my lap.

“Hey.”

“Hi.” I smile, leaning up to kiss her softly.

“What are you doing?”

“I was grading tests, but then a little human ran in about losing a tooth.”

“Oh, I’ll let you get back to that.”

“No, stay here.” I say, holding her a bit tighter.

“What about the tests? Last time you graded tests, you said your students were mad that they had to wait almost a month to know what they got.”

“Those same kids that worry are always the ones getting the top marks. Besides, I’d rather hold my wife anyway.” I say, kissing her neck.

“I’d rather you hold me too, but Daisy will be up from her nap soon.”

“So?”

“So, that means I need to start making dinner.”

“It’s that late already?”

“Yeah, it’s nearly five o’clock.” Laura says, kissing me on the forehead.

“What’s for dinner, oh wonderful wife of mine?”

“Sophie requested tacos.”

“I love that kid more and more every day.”

“Mommy, am I still gonna help make dinner?”

“Yes you are Sweetie.”

“I’ll get Daisy, you go start dinner.” I say, kissing Laura one more time. She and Sophie make their way into the kitchen while I go upstairs to Daisy’s room. “Hello little one.” I chime when I reach her room, bending over to pick her up and over the gate Laura and I kept up when Daisy sleeps, just to stop her from walking down stairs.

“Ma! Hi.”

“Hello, did you have a nice nap?” I ask, kissing her cheek.

“Yeah. Hungry.” Daisy says, patting her tummy.

“Mommy and Sophie are in the kitchen, want to go help?”

“Yeah. Soapy!”

“Soapy.” I laugh, seeing as Daisy was having a hard time pronouncing Sophie. “We’ll go help mommy and Soapy.”

“Yay!”

“Potty first.” I say, putting her to her feet and watching her fun into the bathroom. I wait in the doorway while she uses her little princess potty. Daisy looks up at me, and smiles bright. A smile that reminded me of Laura’s smile so much the more she grows up. It’s funny that even though she is biologically mine, she reminds me of Laura more so than myself, and I wouldn’t change that for anything.

“Done ma!” The three-year-old shouts, clapping her hands. We wash up before going downstairs and into the kitchen where Laura and Sophie were hard at work, well Laura was hard at work, and Sophie was watching while Laura chopped vegetables. “I did potty Mommy!” Daisy shouts as I sit her in her high chair.

“Good job Sweetie.” Laura says, kissing Daisy on the cheek.

“I wanna help you!” Daisy shouts, pointing to what Sophie and Laura were doing.

“Not today Sweetie, it’s almost done, you and Mama get to just eat today.”

“Okay.”

“Can you finish setting the table?” 

“Sure thing Love.” I smile, kissing Laura quickly before doing what was asked.

* * *

Laura and I were sat in our bed, the girls have gone to sleep and I was back to grading tests while Laura was working on some article. “Hey Carm?”

“Yes?”

“Do you think we should start trying again?”

“That’s up to you cupcake, you know that. Whenever you’re ready to start, I’m here to rub your feet and gets you cookies.”

“Just like a doting wife should.” She smiles, leaning in to kiss me softly. “But seriously?”

“Whatever you feel comfortable doing, Daisy will be in school before we know it. So it doesn’t hurt to try.”

“I guess it doesn’t.”

“Everything will be okay Cupcake, if you want to try next week or next month, I’m going to be with you no matter what.”

“I love you Carm.”

“I love you too Laura. I’m ready for another bundle of joy when you are.”

“You know what?”

“What?” I ask, as Laura moves my papers off of my lap and straddles me.

“I’ve probably told you this several times, but you are the best thing to happen to me. Aside from our children being born. But you’re first.” Laura smiles, leaning in to kiss me.

“So I’m higher on the list than our kids? I call that a score.”

“You’re so immature sometimes.”

“But you love me no matter what.”

“That I do.” She says, leaning in to kiss me. “Oh, shit. Where’s you wallet?” Laura says, jumping off of me and walking over to the dresser.

“Why do you need my wallet?”

“The tooth fairy.”

“No way, I was the tooth fairy last time.”

“No I was.”

“The other day when she lost her tooth I was tooth fairy.”

“Just be tooth fairy tonight too, I left my bag downstairs.” Laura says with a small pout.

“Fine, but you do double next time.”

“Deal.”

“You’re lucky you’re still cute.”

“I’ll always be cute, even when we’re old and wrinkled.” Laura chimes, kissing me before walking out of the room. She comes back into the room and jumps onto the bed.

“Why did you jump on the bed Cupcake?”

“I want a midnight snack.”

“Oh, now you want to go downstairs. What do you want?”

“There’s still some left over tacos.”

“Really?”

“Please, come with me, it’ll be like what we used to do.” I sigh, rolling my eyes as I get out of bed, she takes my hand in hers and we walk down to the kitchen. Laura sits on the island counter top while I got the leftovers out of the fridge. “Cold?”

“Duh, it wouldn’t be a midnight snack if I took the time to heat it up.”

“You’re such a goober.”

“But you wouldn’t change it for anything.” She smiles, fixing herself a taco.

“Of course not.” I say, taking a bit of her taco before she does.

“Hey!”

“That’s good.”

“You’re a jerk.”

“I only wanted a bite anyway.”

“That’s it, I want a divorce.”

“You’re so melodramatic, it’s not like I took a bite of a cookie.”

“True.” She shrugs, eating the rest of her food. After a moment we hear Daisy crying.

“I’ll go get her, you finish up.” I say, kissing her before leaving to check Daisy.

“Ma!” She says when I walk into her room, her face was read and she had her finger in her mouth. “Bad dream.”

“It’s okay Sweetie.” I say, kissing her cheek. “You can sleep in bed with me and Mommy.”

“Yeah, wait I want Buzz!” She says, pointing to her doll from our trip to Disney. I reach down and pick up Buzz. I walk out of Daisy’s room to see Laura walking up the stairs.

“I had bad dream Mommy.”

“You did? Did Mama say you could sleep with us?”

“Yeah, in the big bed.” Daisy nods, clutching Buzz under her arm

“Okay Sweet Pea. Do you want to talk about your dream?” Laura asks, brushing the hair from Daisy’s face.

“It was scary, there was a monster.”

“Okay Sweetie, you’re okay. We’re going to go to bed now.”

“Okay Mommy.” Daisy says, making herself comfortable against the pillows in the middle of Laura’s and mine. Laura and I get into bed and face Daisy who is lying on her back looking between Laura and I. “I wanna face Mommy.”

“That’s okay Monkey.” I say kissing her cheek before she turns on her side.

“I love you Mama.”

“I love you too.” I say, kissing the back of her head.

“I love you Mommy.”

“I love you too Sweetie.” Laura says kissing Daisy’s forehead.

“Hey, why is Daisy in the bed?” Sophie asks from the doorway, rubbing her eyes.

“She had a bad dream.”

“Well I had one too.” She says, running over and squeezing in between Daisy and me.

“Thank your mother for making sure we invested in a king sized bed.” Laura mumbles in her sleep.

“The only useful tip that woman ever gave me. Okay, everyone to sleep.”

“Goodnight.” The girls and Laura all mumbled in their sleep.

* * *

I wake up to a small pair of feet in my face, I look down to see Daisy has managed to switch sided with Sophie, who was now curled up into Laura’s back. I reach over to the bedside table to get my phone, realizing the alarm clock was going to go off in a half hour, which meant that Laura’s was going to go off any second. As soon as it went off Laura set up in bed and smiles when she sees the girls. “You’re up?” Laura asks, looking over at me.

“Yep, someone’s little piggys were in my face.”

“Apparently they managed to roll over each other during the night.” Laura laughs, she carefully gets out of bed and walks over to my side, extending her hand for me to take. She drags me out of bed, making sure we don’t wake up the kids, and make our way downstairs. “Good morning.”

“Good morning.” I smile, leaning in to kiss her softly. “I love you and all, but I need coffee. I have to get to the train station and get to campus early today. There’s a last minute department meeting.”

“It’s Saturday.”

“I know, but I have to just go to the meeting and then I’ll be home.”

“Okay.” She says quietly, turning on her heels and walking into the kitchen.

“Why don’t we all go in? I’ll run in and see what the meeting is about, and then we’ll take the girls around.”

“I think they would like that.”

“What would we like?” Sophie asks, walking into the kitchen holding Daisy’s hand.

“You know you aren’t allowed to go down the stairs with Daisy, we don’t want her getting hurt.” Laura says, getting the girls their vitamins.

“She sat on the steps like I taught her, we both did the same. We had a race, she beat me.”

“Okay, okay.” Laura says, giving the girls a glass of milk after helping Daisy up to her seat. “How would you girls like to go to the city today?”

“Can we go to the zoo? I wanna see the animals!” Sophie says excitedly.

“Yeah, monkeys!” Daisy exclaims with a smile.

“I guess our day is planned out.” I smile, kissing Laura on the side of her head. “Who wants waffles?”

“With chocolate chips?”

“That shouldn’t be a question.” I chime, kissing her softly.


	28. Chapter 28

-Carmilla POV-

“Why are you so late?” Laura asks as I walk into the bedroom to find her sitting up in bed.

“I told you I was going to be late.”

“Yeah, but not fucking midnight Carm.”

“I’m sorry Cupcake.”

“Sorry isn’t going to cut it, I want an explanation.”

“I was helping a student, by the time I got finished, and the train ride home. It took some time. I’m sorry.”

“You make me worried when you do that.”

“Do what? I told you I would be late today, the only reason why I didn’t call was because I didn’t know if you were wake or not.” I say, walking over to her and giving her a kiss. “You have nothing to worry about, I promise.”

“I trust you. I do, I just got worried about you being out in the city so late. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

“I’m Carmilla Karnstein, people run the other way when they see me.” I scoff, causing Laura to chuckle a bit. “I love you cupcake.”

“I love you too.”

“Let me get changed, and come to bed.”

“Okay.” She nods with a small smile. After changing into something comfortable and brushing my teeth I walk over and climb into bed. Laura smile, curling into my side before I could even get comfortable.

“You okay cupcake? I feel like something’s bothering you.”

“I just missed you today.”

“I missed you too.” I say, kissing her forehead. “Anything exciting happen today?”

“No, nothing too eventful. Sophie painted another cat at school, and Daisy and I were outside for most of the day seeing as it was so nice out.”

“Sounds fun.”

“It was, until Daisy decided to start eating dirt.”

“That kid cracks me up.” I say with a laugh.

“Are you ready for number three?”

“I’m ready to raise another sweet and loving child with my amazing wife.” I chime, leaning in to kiss her. “Or spawn of Satan, like Daisy tends to be sometimes.”

“You’re a jerk.” Laura says with a lazy grin.

“You love me.”

“I question it sometimes.”

“No you don’t.” I say, kissing her cheek. 

“No, I don’t.”

* * *

“Why are you nervous?” I ask, placing my hand over Laura’s knee to stop it from bouncing erratically.

“I don’t want to get bad news.” She says quietly. “The doctor didn’t take this long to tell me I was pregnant with Daisy. Maybe something happened.”

“Whatever the outcome, we will try again.” I say, kissing the side of her head. Laura jumps slightly at the sound of the door opening and the doctor walking in.

“Hello.”

“Just tell us what’s happening, I don’t want to beat around the bush.” Laura says, sitting up straight and taking my hand in hers and squeezing it tight.

“Okay.” Dr. Callis says, opening the file. “I’m sorry Laura.”

“I knew it. I told you Carm.”

“When can we try again?” I ask, wrapping my arm around her shoulder.

“I would suggest a couple of months. Just to give her some time to recuperate”

“Okay, thank you Doc.”

“Again, I’m sorry Laura. But you are strong, and extremely healthy, sometimes something like this happens and it has nothing to do with you, it’s not your fault.”

“Thank you Doctor.” Laura says timidly, getting up and walking out of the office. I sigh and follow Laura out to the car.

“Cupcake.” I say, walking up to her and pulling her into a hug. “This isn’t the end of the world. We still get to go home to two little monsters. We’ll have a baby monster before you know it.” I say, kissing the top of her head.

“I know, but I just wanted to get good news today.”

“We’re going to try again in a couple of months, when the time is right it will happen.” I say, tilting her chin to look at me. “You want to go to that bakery you like and get something?” I chime, watching her smile slightly.

“I would like a giant cookie.”

“Well, I’ll get you and the girls each a cookie, and me a cup of coffee, and of course cocoa for you and the girls.”

“You’re the best.” Laura smiles, leaning in to kiss me. 

“I know.” I say, kissing her again. “I love you cupcake, everything will be okay.”

* * *

“Hi Mama!” Sophie shouts as we walk through the door. “Hi Mommy.”

“Hello Sweetie.”

“Is that back for me?”

“It’s for you and Daisy, and these cups.” Laura says, leading Sophie to the kitchen. I walk into the living room to see Sherman sitting on the couch with his feet on the coffee table.

“Hey Dad.” I say, patting his shoulder.

“How did everything go?”

“It didn’t.”

“Is Laura okay?”

“She was upset, there was no getting around that, but I got her some cookies and that made her feel a bit better.”

“Are you going to try again?”

“Of course, we’re going to try in a couple of months.”

“Well at least you’re going to try again.”

“Yeah, we would like a little boy.”

“Good, I want a grandson. Not that I don’t love my granddaughters, but I would like someone to take fishing and do man things with.”

“Okay Sherman.” I say with a small laugh.

“Daddy what are you talking about? All I heard was man things.”

“Carmilla was telling me that you want to try for a boy and I said it’s about time I get a grandson to do man things with.”

“Oh, okay Dad.” Laura says quietly and walking up next to me, wrapping her arms around my waist.

“Well I’ll let you girls be now. Don’t worry Laura, everything will be okay.” Sherman says, hugging his daughter.

“Thanks Dad.”

“Take care of her.”

“I wouldn’t dream of not taking care of her and my kids.” I smile, kissing Laura on the side of her head. Sherman leaves after saying goodbye to the girls.

“Mama?”

“Yes Monkey?”

“Can you help me with homework?”

“Sure.” I say, kissing Sophie on the top of her head. “Go wait for me in the kitchen.”

“Okay.” Sophie says before running off.

“Are you okay?” I ask Laura as she rests her head on my chest.

“I think I’m going to go lie down. I’ll take Daisy with me, it’s nap time for her anyway.”

“Whatever you want to do Cupcake.” I say, leaning in to kiss her softly. “I love you.”

“I love you too Carm.” She smiles as we walk into the kitchen. “Come on Sweet Pea, you’re going to take a nap with Mommy.”

“Okay Mommy.” Daisy smiles, getting up from her little table we had set up for her and Sophie.

“Sophie and I are going to do some homework and then I’m gonna take her to the store, we need a few things here.”

“Okay.” Laura smiles, kissing me quickly before taking Daisy by the hand and going upstairs.

“Is Mommy okay?” Sophie asks, looking up at me from where she was sat at the kitchen counter.

“Yeah, she’s just tired. We had a long day.”

“Oh okay. Can you help me with math?”

“No problem.” I chime, sitting down beside her.

* * *

“Mama, can we get the cereal that Mommy likes?” Sophie asks as we walk down the aisle in the supermarket. “Maybe it will make her happy, oh and the ice cream she likes too?”

“Sure thing Monkey.” I say as I push the cart while Sophie runs over to the cereal.

“Laura is letting you shop?” I hear someone say over my shoulder, I turn to see Ell behind me with a small smile.

“Yeah, we got some bad news today and I told her I would shop so she could rest.”

“What happened?”

“We tried for a third and nothing happened.” I say quietly when I hear Sophie toss something into the cart.

“Hi Aunt Ell.”

“Hey Munchkin, are you being good for you moms?”

“Always super good. Where’s Jack?”

“Jack is with his daddy, Uncle John wanted to take him to something, I don’t know.” She says shaking her head. “It’s nice to shop without an extra set of hands grabbing for things.”

“I hear you, it’s nice to have hands help and not just grab.” I say with a small laugh. “You guys should come over one day this week, Laura would enjoy the company and it’s always fun seeing Daisy and Jack play.”

“I’ll talk to John about it.”

“And I’ll talk to Laura.”

“Tell her I hope she feels better.”

“Will do.” I smile.

“Bye Aunt Ell, see you later.” Sophie says, giving Ell a hug.

“Be good for your moms.” Ell says, kissing Sophie on the top of her head before walking away.

“I like Aunt Ell, she’s nice.”

“Yeah. Okay, off to get Mommy some ice cream.”

“Cookie dough!” Sophie says, pointing straight ahead.

 

-Laura POV-

“Mommy.” Daisy says, tapping my nose as we lie in my bed, facing each other.

“Daisy.”

“Love you.” She says, giving me a sloppy kiss.

“I love you too.” I say, picking her up, rolling onto my back, and settling her on my stomach. I take her hands in mine, and start counting her fingers; she smiles as she repeats after me with every number I say. “You’re so smart.”

“Smart.”

“Yes, you’re smart.” I smile, leaning to kiss her.

“Mama come home?”

“Mama should be home soon with Sophie.”

“Soapy!”

“Do you love Sophie?”

“Yeah.”

“Would you love it if you had another sister or brother.”

“Yeah.” Daisy says with a nod. 

“Are you going to say yeah to everything?”

“Yeah.” Daisy laughs. 

“Hi Mommy!” Sophie says, running into the room and jumping on the bed. “Mama and me got your favorite cereal, and ice cream.”

“Thank you Sweetie.” I say, kissing her on the cheek. “Did you help Mama bring everything in?”

“Yes Mommy.”

“How are you feeling?” Carmilla asks, walking into the room and sitting on her side of the bed.

“I’m better, it was nice to sleep for a little bit.” I say before she leans in to kiss me softly.

“Good. Everything is put away, and there are some burgers in the kitchen. Sophie and I just stopped quick and she didn’t want pizza."

“I wanted chicken nuggets for a change Mommy.” Sophie chimes.

“That’s perfectly fine Sweetheart.”

“Everything is going to be okay Cupcake, we’ll have this bed filled with one more little one before we know it.” Carmilla whispers in my ear.

“I know. I just wish it was happening already. What if it doesn’t happen and we never get our next little one?”

“We’ll do whatever it takes to have one more kid. You know I wouldn’t mind adopting if it came to it.”

“I know.” I sigh.

“I love you no matter what.”

“I love you too.”


	29. Chapter 29

-Laura POV-

It was almost like clockwork, the way that Perry, Ell, and I managed to get pregnant all within a couple of months of each other, something that everyone found to be a blessing and a curse. Laf said Perry turned into more or a clean maniac than she was prior to the pregnancy, something that concerned them deeply. Ell was happy that she was welcoming another little one into the world, and so for there was nothing bad to report, other than John talking about how Ell would go through phases or craving things that would make a normal person vomit. Carmilla would tell you that I was crankier this time around, which I am, something about this pregnancy has me on edge with everyone, even the girls. “Mommy?” Sophie asks, poking her head in the door.

“Yes Sweetie?”

“Are you done being grumpy yet?”

“Yeah. I’m sorry. Come sit.”

“Mama says the baby makes you grumpy.”

“That’s kind of true, the baby is putting me in a bad mood and I don’t know why.”

“Were you grumpy when I was in your belly?”

“I was very happy when you were in my belly, I was very happy with Daisy too, for some reason, this baby us making me feel grumpy.”

“Well I hope you get un-grumpy soon.” Sophie says, placing her hand on my small bump. “Stop making Mommy grumpy, and stop keeping Mommy up at night too.”

“Let’s see if they listen to you.” I smile, brushing Sophie’s hair out of her face. “Are you ready to be a big sister again?” 

“Yeah. But I don’t want to change dirty diapers.”

“You won’t have to Sweetie.”

“Good.” Sophie says with a nod.

“Hi Mommy!” Daisy says, running into the room and trying to jump onto the bed.

“Hold on there little one.” Carmilla says, running in after Daisy, picking her up and throwing her over her shoulder. “You need your jammies on.”

“Okay Mama.”

“You should go get changed too sweet pea, then you can come back in here for your story.” I say, kissing Sophie on the top of her head.

“Okay Mommy.” About a half hour later Carmilla was trailing behind Sophie and Daisy who tried to jump onto the bed. Carmilla laughed, lifting Daisy onto the bed while Sophie climbed up with no issue.

“Okay girls, get cozy.” Carmilla says, walking over to the bookcase.

“Mama are we gonna start the last Harry Potter book?” Sophie asks.

“The time has come, Monkey. We are going to go into the realm of the inevitable.” Carmilla says dramatically, walking over to sit on the bed with the girls in between us.

“Can we read it extra slow, I don’t want it to be over.”

“I know you don’t want it to be over, but when it’s over, your mother and I will be more than willing to read it again.” Carmilla says, looking at me with a wink.

“We’ll see what happens.” I say, wrapping my arm around Daisy.

“Are you ready?” Carmilla asks, sitting on her side of the bed.

“Ready Mama.” Sophie says, hovering over the book once Carmilla opens it. After finishing the first chapter. Sophie and Daisy were fast asleep.

“Do you wanna go first?” I ask, looking over to see Sophie resting her head against Carmilla’s shoulder.

“Yeah, I’ll take Sophie first, then I’ll take Daisy.” After putting the girls to bed, Carmilla walked back into the room, taking the Harry Potter book and putting it back on the shelf before lying down on her side, facing me and lifting up my shirt a bit to reveal my small bump. “Hello little one.” She whispers, kissing my abdomen. “I hope you let Mommy get some sleep tonight. You’re no bigger than a peanut and yet you’re keeping Mommy up half the night.”

“I’m just so nauseas.”

“I’m sorry Cupcake.”

“I’ll live, it’ll be worth it in the next few months.” I say, running my fingers through her hair.

“I guess so. I can’t wait to hold the little one.”

“I know.” I smile, leaning down slightly to kiss Carmilla. “I hope we get our little boy.”

“I know. I think we need one. But he’ll be the odd one out.”

“But my dad will be happy to have a little boy running around.”

“That is true, Sherman deserves that.” Carmilla smiles leaning in to kiss my bump.

“Do you think a boy will be easy?”

“Not at all.” She says, sitting up and wrapping her arm around my shoulder.

“Why do you think that?”

“Well for one, we have to buy all new clothes and change some of the aspects of décor in the spare room. I mean I don’t want our son to be thrown into the norm of what a boy should be, and how they should act. But I don’t want to subject an infant to wearing his sisters’ hand-me-downs. Or having a bedroom that’s bright pink and covered in flowers.”

“I know what you mean, just like how we are with Sophie and Daisy, if they want the ‘boy Legos’ we don’t freak out, we let them have it.”

“Exactly, and if baby boy here want an easy bake oven, we’re not going to freak out and make him get a Nerf gun.”

“Do you think we’re good parents?”

“I think if there was an award for best parent, we’d win top prize, Cupcake.” Carmilla smiles 

“Oh really?”

“Yes, really. Our daughters are the sweetest girls you could ever meet, and it’s thanks to us being great parents.”

“I love you.” I say, leaning in to kiss her.

“I love you too Cupcake.”

 

-Carmilla POV-

“Mama?” Sophie asks as she walks over to me.

“Yes Princess?” I say, not looking up from my computer.

“Are you working?”

“Yes I am Sweetie, you know that if I’m on the computer in my bed that I’m working.”

“Oh.”

“What do you want Monkey?”

“When are you gonna be done working?”

“Soon.” I say, reaching over to caress her cheek. “Then we’ll do whatever you want.”

“Okay Mama.” She nods, leaving the room.

“You know what. I can be done working for right now, what do you want to do?” I say closing my laptop.

“Can we build a fort in the living room?”

“Sure, we have to get it up fast though, Mommy should be home with Daisy soon.”

“Okay Mama, I’ll get the sheets.” Sophie says, running over to the hall closet. We make our way into the living room where Sophie tries to push the couches around to make the foundation for a fort. “Mama, I can’t do it.” She grunts as her feet slide on the wood floor.

“You’re not big enough yet Squirt.” I say, ruffling her hair as she steps aside, sighing as I move the couch with ease.

“Do you still love Mommy?” Sophie asks out of the blue, tilting her head to the side as she looks at me.

“Why would you ask me that? Of course I still love Mommy.”

“My friend David told me that his mommy doesn’t love his daddy anymore and now he has to see his daddy only on the weekend.”

“That’s not going to happen with me and Mommy.” I say, crouching down in front of her. “I love Mommy so much, nothing will ever change that.”

“You promise?”

“I promise you, I promise mommy, I promise Daisy, and I even promise the baby, Mommy and I will never ever leave each other and put you in a situation like your friend. Besides, I would miss you too much if I could only see you on the weekend.” I chime, earning a smile from Sophie.

“I would miss you too.” She says shyly, throwing her arms around my neck to give me a hug. “I love you Mama.”

“I love you too Monkey.” I say, kissing her cheek. “Come on, let’s finish this fort.” Sophie and I were sitting in the fort when we head the pitter-patter of tiny footsteps coming towards us. We look towards the opening to see Daisy bent over peaking in with a wide smile.

“Hi Mama.” Daisy laughs, walking into the fort and jumping on me. “I miss you.”

“I missed you too Sweetie, did you have fun?”

“Yeah. The party was fun.”

“It looks like it.” I say, adjusting Daisy so she was sitting on my stomach. “What are you?”

“A tiger!” She says, referring to the face paint she has on.

“You’re the cutest tiger cub ever.” I say, blowing raspberries on her belly.

“What’s going on in here?” Laura asks from somewhere outside of the fort.

“What’s the password?” Sophie says, crawling over to the entrance and poking her head out.

“Sophie is the best?” Laura asks, crouching down in front of Sophie.

“That works come in Mommy.” Sophie comes crawling back into her spot with Laura following behind her. Laura lies down beside me, and smiles.

“Hey.” Laura says quietly, leaning in to kiss me.

“How was the toddler party?”

“It was nice, Daisy had fun. She ate a lot of cookies.”

“Did you eat all the cookies?”

“Yeah. They were good.” She says, patting her belly.

“Did Mommy have any?”

“No.” Daisy shakes her head. 

“Does the baby make Mommy’s tummy hurt?”

“Yeah.” Laura whines, resting her head on my shoulder.

“It’s okay Mommy.” Daisy says, placing her hand on Laura’s head.

“Yeah, it’s okay Mommy.” Sophie says, wrapping her arms around Laura.

“We still love you, we’ll help you through your cookie withdrawal.” I tease, receiving a shove from Laura.

“You’re a jerk.” She smiles.

“I love you.”

“I love you too.” I lean in to kiss her softly.

“Is it okay for me to like girls?” Sophie asks shyly.

“If the time comes where you start to like a girl or a boy, your mother and I will be there to support you no matter what.” Laura says. “Don’t think you have to like girls because you have two moms, or you have to like boys because someone says it’s normal, in the next few years, while you start to figure everything out, no matter who you like, we will still love you no matter what. 

“Yeah, Mommy and I will love you always Sweetie. But I think you have more than enough time to figure all of that out, you’re only seven. You have a long life a head of you.”

“Okay Mama.”

“We love you no matter what.” I smile while Laura kisses Sophie on the cheek. “Are the two of you ready to be the best big sisters?”

“Yeah!” Daisy shouts.

“Yeah, I just don’t wanna change diapers like I said.”

“You won’t have to, we told you that.” Laura smiles.

“Good. Mama, can you read a chapter now?”

“Nope, only at bed time, that’s the rule.”

“Oh, okay.”

“I’m going to get out of here and change Daisy and put something comfortable on. Then I’m gonna start dinner.”

“Okay.” I nod, kissing Laura before she crawls out of the fort.

“Come on Monkey, you have to change out of those clothes and get that paint if of your face.” 

“Okay Mommy. Bye Mama.” Daisy says, kissing me on the cheek before following Laura upstairs.

* * *

“Are you working?” Laura asks, closing the door behind her as she walks into our room.

“I was cut short before because Sophie wanted a fort.” I say, pushing my glasses on top of my head. “But I’m almost done, I was just submitting grades into the system. I can finish in the morning.”

“Good.” Laura says, moving the laptop to the bedside table and straddling me. “I missed you today. It was weird being out knowing you were home.”

“But someone had to stay with Sophie, and you know I don’t do well with other people’s toddlers.”

“I know.” She smiles, running her fingers through my hair. Laura leans down and kisses me softly while I place my hands on her waist.

“Sophie made me promise to never leave you.”

“And what sparked that conversation.”

“One of her classmates, their parents are divorced and I guess the kid tells everyone everything that’s going on.”

“Ah, well I know you’d never leave me.”

“I mean, if your cookie addiction ever got out of control.” I tease, receiving a playful slap from Laura.

“You’re an ass hole.” She smiles.

“Only you can say that with that beautiful smile of yours.” I whisper, kissing her again.

“I love you.” She says between kisses.


	30. Chapter 30

-Carmilla POV-

Whoever said that kids were a blessing, may have failed to mention that they are also a curse. Not that I don’t love my children, I do, I would do anything for them. But there are just some days that I wish they would just go away for a moment so Laura and I could breathe. Laura just gave birth to our son, Ryder, a few days ago. The poor little guy has been home for barely a day and it is as if the girls decided to turn on the parts in their brains to turn them into the kids from hell.

“Sophie Rose Karnstein! You know better than to hit your sister.” I hear Laura say from somewhere in the hallway. “Apologize to Daisy.”

“No! She’s a meanie.” I walk out into the hallway with Ryder in my arms.

“Why are you speaking to Mommy like that? You were told to apologize for not being nice and I expect you to apologize to Daisy and Mommy.”

“I don’t wanna.”

“Sophie if you don’t apologize you will be in trouble.”

“No.”

“Okay, have it your way, go to your room, you’re not going to be read your chapter tonight.” Her eyes widen in fear and I watch as they well up with tears.

“But Mama, I want to know what happens with Boo Radley.”

“You should have thought of that before you made the wrong choices. Maybe you’ll know to listen the next time Mommy and I tell you to do something.”

“I’m sorry.” Sophie mumbles, walking into her room with her head hanging low.

“Do you want me to take him?” Laura asks, reaching for Ryder.

“No, leave him, I finally got him to sleep.”

“Okay, I have to feed him soon anyway.”

“Take a breath, you’ll get to feeding him, everything will be okay. Go get Daisy settled, I want to talk to Sophie.” I say, kissing Laura quickly before walking into Sophie’s room. I walk in to see her lying on her bed. “Sophie.”

“Yeah Mama?” She asks sitting up, I walk in and sit down next to her, being mindful of Ryder in my arms sleeping.

“Why did you hit your sister?”

“Because she was annoying me.”

“Okay, but that doesn’t mean it’s okay to hit her.”

“I know, but she made me mad.”

“We still don’t hit the people that we love, it isn’t right to hit anyone period, but it’s especially not right to hit your sister, okay?”

“Okay. Am I still not getting my chapter tonight?”

“I don’t think so monkey, we’ll see about tomorrow though, maybe then you’ll get your chapter.”

“Okay Mama, I love you. I love Ryder too.” She says, kissing Ryder’s head and me on the cheek.

“We love you too Monkey, get into bed and go to sleep okay.”

“Okay.” She says, doing as she told and curling up under her covers. I walk out of the room and turn off the light. I walk into my room to find Laura lying on her side of the bed, struggling to stay away.

“Hey.” Laura says quietly.

“Hey Sweetie.” I smile, climbing into bed gently.

“You never call me sweetie.” She coos, sitting up and bit and taking Ryder from my arms. “Hello Mommy’s big boy.”

“I figure let me switch things up a bit.” I smile, kissing her on the cheek. “Are you okay?”

“I’m tired. It’s not even him that tiring, it’s the girls. I don’t know what it is, but they both took a turn.”

“It’s an attention thing, I guarantee you.”

“Probably, but we give them more than enough attention even with Ryder.”

“They’re seven and four, what do you expect? Thankfully Daisy gets to start preschool.”

“And Sophie is going to be in second grade.”

“Then it’ll just be little Ryder all day.” I chime, kissing him on the top of his head.

“So, feeding him, changing him, and hearing him cry for eight hours.”

“Basically, but I’ll be just a door away grading papers, you know I’m working from home this year, I don’t want to leave you.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too Cupcake.” I smile, leaning in to kiss her quickly.

“Can you take him for a minute? I have to undo myself.”

“Get naked all you want, you know I don’t care.” I tease as she rolls her eyes and takes her shirt off. I had her Ryder, who starts feeding instantly. “He seems easier than the girls.”

“He is, and I couldn’t be happier.” Laura says, looking down at Ryder and stroking his cheek. “He’s chubby.”

“He looks like you as a baby.”

“I feel like he looks like my dad.”

“Your dad would be excited to hear that.”

“I know. He’s coming by tomorrow to see his grand babies, and Sadie is coming her see her step-grand babies.”

“Whatever makes them happy.”

“What about your parents?”

“I don’t know, I barely spoke to them since we told them you were pregnant.”

“I guess we’ll just have to see what happens.”

“I guess so.” I sigh, kissing Laura’s cheek. “As long as you and the kids are happy, I’m happy. I don’t care if my parents do want to see their grandkids, it’s their loss, not mine, or yours, or the kids’. Honestly, as long as your dad and Sadie are around, then that’s more than enough grandparent love for the beasts.” I say, taking Ryder from Laura to help burp him. Once he burps, and successfully doesn’t throw up, I walk him into the nursery to change his diaper before going back to Laura and handing him to her.

“I couldn’t have asked for a better mother for my kids.” Laura smiles.

“I feel the same way about you cupcake.”

“Good.” She says as she settles Ryder on the boppy in front of her. “Hello my little angel. My newest little angel.” She coos, taking Ryder’s little hands in hers. “There are those beautiful brown eyes, my handsome boy.”

“Your baby voice gives me a headache.”

“At least I talk to him like he’s a baby and not a person. You don’t ever talk in a baby voice.”

“I have the capacity to do a baby voice, I just choose not to.”

“I hear you talk to him when you’re alone, so don’t try to play games with me. I like hearing your baby voice.”

“You’re so demanding.” I tease, rolling my eyes as I turn on my side to face her and Ryder.

“Are you going to sleep?” Laura asks, running her fingers through my hair.

“Most likely.” I say, closing my eyes. 

“Go to sleep.”

* * *

“Hello, hello, hello!” Sherman calls out as he walks through the door with Sadie trailing behind him.

“Grampa!” Sophie shouts, running towards the front door.

“Hi Dad.” I hear Laura say from where I was sat in the living room grading.

“Is there ever a day you aren’t working Karnstein?” Sherman chimes, I look up to see Sophie in his arms as he walks over and takes away my iPad. “I don’t want to see you on this thing at all today.” He says, shaking it in front of me before putting in on the bookcase.

“Yes Sir.” I say, getting up from the chair to give him a hug. “How are you?”

“Very well, thank you.”

“How are you Sadie?”

“I’m great Carmilla, thank you for asking.”

“Not a problem, can I get you guys anything?”

“No thanks.” Sherman and his wife say in unison. “Where’s the newest Karnstein?” Sherman asks, putting Sophie down.

“Ryder and Daisy are both napping at the moment.” Laura explains.

“More time with me Grampa!” Sophie says, wiggling out of his arms. “Come on, I have to show you my good grade that mommy and mama put on the fridge.” She says, taking him by the hand and dragging him towards the kitchen. Soon the sound of Ryder crying fills the room.

“I’ll get him.” I say to Laura.

“Thank you.” I go get Ryder from his crib and change him before bringing him back downstairs where Sadie was waiting with open arms. I chuckle as I get to the bottom of the stairs and hand him to her.

“Hey! What is this? I called first dibs in the car.” Sherman says, walking into the hallway to see Sadie holding the baby. Sadie looks at Sherman and sticks her tongue out at him playfully as she walks into the den and sits on the couch next to Laura.

“He has your eyes Sweetie.” Sadie says to Laura with a smile. “He looks a lot like your father though.”

“That’s what I thought when we first brought him home, that he looked a lot like dad.” Laura says.

“I think he has your mother’s eyes. Then again you have your mother’s eyes.” Sherman says, sitting down beside Sadie to get a better look at his grandson. “Finally a little boy.” He mumbles with a grin.

“You think he’s happy he has a grandson?” I tease, sitting beside Laura, wrapping my arm around her shoulder.

“I don’t know the smile on his face may go either way.” Laura plays along, leaning into me.

“You two better stop teasing me.” Sherman says, not looking away from Ryder.

“Hi Gampa.” Daisy says as she slides down the stairs, looking into the den.

“Hello Sweetie.” He says, kissing Daisy on the cheek when she climbs up beside him.

“Hi Nana.”

“Hello Sweet Pea.” Sadie says with a smile. Wrapping Daisy in a hug.

“Well since you’re here, Laura and I are going to catch up on much needed sleep.” I say, getting up from the couch, holding my hand out for her to take.

“That’s fine, girls.”

“Even though he may not take it, there is a bottle on the counter for him. I pumped before you got here.” Laura explains.

“I don’t want to hear the details, but if it’s needed we’ll use it.” Sherman says.

“Thank you Daddy.”

“You’re welcome, go before you get caught up.”

“Bye-bye Mommy and Mama.” Daisy says, waving to us.

“Daisy needs lunch and so does Sophie.” I say before making my way up the stairs, we get into our room and close the door before throwing ourselves on out bed. Laura curls into my side right away.

“Did we really just leave my dad and step-mom with our daughters and newborn?”

“I guess we did.” I say, feeling myself drift off a bit.

“I love you.” 

“I love you too cupcake.” I mumble, kissing the side of her head.

* * *

“Mama!” Sophie shouts, jolting me awake. I look around to see that Laura wasn’t next to me anymore and Sophie was crying.

“What’s going on?”

“I was trying to get something off of my high shelf and I fell off my bed.” She cries, rubbing her head.

“It’s okay Monkey. Come here.” I say, opening my arms to her. “Where’s Mommy?”

“She’s with Grampa and Nana.”

“Okay.” I yawn, wrapping my arms around her. “Is everything better?” I ask, kissing her head.

“You always make everything better mama.”

“That’s my job.”

“And you’re extra special and really good at it.”

“Thank you Monkey.”

“I love you Mama.”

“I love you too Bumblebee.” 

“Are you going to read to me later?”

“Of course I will sweetie. You know why I didn’t read to you last night.”

“Because I hit Daisy and didn’t apologize to Mommy.”

“And you know better than to do either of those things again?”

“Yes Mama, I was just mad and wasn’t being nice, I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay Monkey. You know not to do it again. Next time you’re mad, just go into your room and calm down okay? I don’t want you being mean to Mommy and Daisy, they love you so much, and they don’t deserve it.”

“I promise Mama.” She says, kissing me on the cheek. “I love you so much.”

“I love you so much too.”


	31. Chapter 31

-Laura POV-

“Wanna go get Mama?” I ask Ryder as he stumbles over to me with a bright smile on his face.

“Get Mama.” He repeats, clapping his hands together. I lead the way over to the door of Carmilla’s office; I open the door and peak in to see her working at her desk, back towards the door as she writes something down.

“Ready?”

“Yeah.” Ryder nods, I push the door open and watch as the three-year-old runs into the room, crashing into Carmilla’s chair. “Get Mama!”

“Are you trying to get me?” Carmilla plays along, pulling Ryder into her arms and kissing his cheeks.

“Mama, stop it.” He says sternly.

“I’m sorry.” She says, looking at me with raised eyebrows as I try to stifle a laugh. “Well then. You’re lucky you’re cute, Kiddo. To what do I owe the pleasure of being interrupted?”

“We missed you.” I say, walking over to her.

“You mean you missed me.”

“Yes, I did. You’ve been in here forever.”

“I only have a few more papers to grade, then I’ll leave the vault.”

“Mama leave now.” Ryder says looking up at Carmilla.

“What do you want to do, oh wonderful son of mine?”

“Play outside.”

“It’s freezing out there.”

“Play in the snow Mama.”

“You want me to play in the snow?” Carmilla teases.

“Yeah.”

“I mean, if you want me to.”

“Yay!” Ryder shouts, clapping his hands before getting down from Carmilla’s lap and rushing out of the room.

“Now I have to get ready for the snow.” Carmilla sighs.

“You love him.” I smile, walking over and kissing her quickly.

“I do. And I love you.” She smiles, grabbing me and pulling into her lap as she peppers my face with kisses.

“You know he’s going to be running in here any second to see of you’re getting ready.”

“I know. He’s impatient like you.”

“Mama, let’s go!” Ryder shouts from the doorway.

“Okay, okay.”

“Come on, Ryder, I’ll get you ready while mama gets done.” I smile, walking over and picking him up.

“Are the girls getting the bus home today?”

“No, I have to go get them after school and then I’m going to go food shopping with them.”

“Okay, have fun with them, when are you going? What time is it even?” Carmilla asks as she pulls her coat on.

“It’s almost three, I have to leave in about ten minutes.” I say, pulling Ryder’s hat on. “Can you move little guy?”

“No.” He laughs.

“Then you’re ready to go.” Carmilla smiles, picking up Ryder and leading the way downstairs and into the kitchen. “Say bye to Mommy.”

“Bye-bye Mommy.”

“Bye sweetie, be good for Mama.” I smile, kissing him on the cheek. “Do you want anything special from the store?”

“Cookies!” Ryder shouts, making his way towards the back door.

“You’re addiction has been passed on to our children, how do you feel?”

“Fantastic.” I chime. “I have to get going.” I say, looking at the time before kissing Carmilla quickly.

“Be careful.”

“I will.”

 

-Carmilla POV-

“Mama, carrot!” Ryder says, pointing to the head of the snowman we were building. 

“We have to wait for mommy to get home, we don’t have any carrots.”

“Okay. Arms!” He says as he starts rushing over to a pile of sticks we kept for kindling. He comes back over with two long branches. “I do!” He shouts as I reach out to help him.

“Okay, let me at least lift you up.” I say, holding him up so they are put in the right place.

“Thank you, Mama. He’s big.”

“He is big, when mommy gets home we’ll finish, how about we go inside and have some cocoa?”

“Cocoa!” He says, rushing over to the deck, he climbs the steps and starts jumping so the snow is off of his boots. “Mama, I’m stuck.” He whines, when his zipper gets caught.

“Hang on. You’re impatient like Mommy.”

“When Mommy coming home?”

“Soon, Monkey. You gonna go potty?”

“Yeah!” He says after getting him down to one layer of clothing.

“Go and meet me in the kitchen.”

“Okay, Mama.” I smile as he runs off to the bathroom; I get myself out of my jacket and wet clothes before going into the kitchen to make myself coffee and Ryder cocoa. “All done, Mama.”

“Just in time.” I smile, walking over to the table and placing his mug in front of him. “How many marshmallows do you see?”

“One. Two. Three. Four. Five.”

“Good job!”

“I love you, Mama.”

“I love you too, Monk.” I smile, placing my hand in his chubby cheek.

“Hi Mama!” Sophie shouts, running over and throwing herself on me.

“Hey Sweetie. How was school?”

“Good, I had a test today.”

“Well, I hope you did well on it.”

“Me too.” Sophie says, kissing my cheek before going over to the sink to wash her hands. 

“Is Mommy parked in the garage?”

“Yeah.”

“Mama!” Daisy smiles as she runs over, wrapping her arms around my legs.

“Hello, little one.” I smile, picking her up and kissing her cheek before helping Laura as she walks through the garage door.

“Hey, how was outside?” Laura smiles, kissing me on the cheek.

“Good, we made a snowman.” I say, pointing out the back window.

“Good job.”

“Needs a nose, Mommy!” Ryder calls out from where he was sat at the table.

“Well, aren’t you lucky I bought them for your snack. I think I can spare one.” She smiles. “Just wait until I bring more bags in. Don’t go digging around yet.”

“Okay Mommy.”

“Sophie and Daisy, start your homework.”

“Okay.” The girls say in unison. Laura and I finish bringing in the rest of the groceries and start to put them away. Once I find the carrots, Ryder comes rushing over to me.

“Carrot, Mama! 

“Yes, here we go.” I smile, handing him a carrot. “Now, we’re just going to run out there quick, so we’re going to just put on your jacket and shoes.”

“Okay, Mama.” After he gets his jacket on, we run outside quickly and put the nose on the snowman, Ryder looks at me, and claps. “He looks good, Mama!”

“He does look good.” I say, picking Ryder up. “Let’s go before Mommy kicks our butts.” 

“Okay.”

* * *

I walk into the bedroom to see Laura lying on the bed, typing away at her tablet. “You’re going to crack the screen.”

“No I won’t.” She says, rolling her eyes with a smile. “To what do I owe the pleasure of you interrupting me?”

“Your oh so wonderful children are asleep, and your equally if not more wonderful wife would like to spend some time with you.” I say, walking over and lying down on my side of the bed, wrapping my arm around her waist.

“Do you plan on me being cuddly, cause I really need to get this done?”

“No, you can finish.” I say, kissing her cheek. Laura begins running her fingers through my hair, causing me to relax instantly.

“Do you want to have another baby?” She asks me after a few moments of silence.

“Do you?”

“I don’t know. I miss having a baby around, Ryder is growing up so fast…”

“I know. I mean we can try.”

“What if something happens?”

“Then it’s not meant to be.”

“Will it be worth the stress though?” She asks quietly.

“The stress of having one, or the stress of losing one?”

“Both. I’ve already lost one, and you remember how heartbreaking it was.”

“I remember. We’ll have to just really think about it.” I smile, sitting up and kissing her softly. “I love you no matter what.”

“I love you too.” She smiles, kissing me again. “I wouldn’t want to be with anyone else.”

“I know that. I mean I’m the best.”

“I guess so.” Laura shrugs, going back to work on her article.

“You know you wouldn’t be able to life without me.”

“You’re so full of yourself.”

“I know.” I say with a small laugh.

“Mommy!” A small voice cries, I jump out of bed with Laura close behind me, she goes to look in Sophie’s room, while I check Daisy’s before we both end up at Ryder’s door. Where we see him crying and clinging to his stuffed turtle. “Mama!”

“What’s wrong, Bud?” I ask, as Laura runs and gets him water.

“I’m hot!” He whines, trying to unzip his onesie. I feel his forehead to realize that he has a fever, helping him out of his pajamas.

“Is he okay?” Laura asks as she walks into the room and helps him drink. “Oh, fever.”

“Yeah, I’ll get some medicine.”

“No medicine, Mama. It’s yucky.”

“I know, but you have to take it, sweetie. It will help you get better.” Laura says, brushing the sticky, sweaty hair away from his forehead.

“I don’t want.” I hear Ryder say as I walk back into the room. “No, Mama.”

“You have to, Bud. This one doesn’t taste bad, I promise.”

“I want juice.”

“I’ll grab it, you’re better at getting the medicine in them.” Laura smiles, kissing my cheek before leaving the room.

“Okay.” I say, pouring the dose for Ryder. “Wanna wait for Mommy?”

“Yeah.” He whines, rubbing his turtle on his cheek.

“Does anything hurt you?”

“My head, and my belly.”

“Okay, I got you apple juice, are you ready for your medicine?” Laura says, walking in with his favorite sippy cup full of apple juice.

“I don’t want it.”

“You need it monk. Just do it quick and drink your juice. One, two, three.” Laura says. Ryder does as he’s told, taking the medicine with a small cough before drinking from his cup.

“There, it wasn’t that bad.” I chime, rubbing his back.

“No, but not my favorite.”

“I’d assume not.” I smile, kissing his cheek. “Let’s get you into some shorts and a t-shirt.” I add, walking over to his dresser and pulling out one of his summer pairs of pajamas.

“Can I go in your bed?” He asks as Laura helps change his pajamas.

“Yeah, you can come sleep with us.” Laura smiles. “Grab, Henry.” Henry is the name of his turtle. “Can you get his cup?” Laura adds, holding Ryder in her arms. I do what she asks and follow her into our room where she puts Ryder in the middle of the bed. “Go to sleep, sweetie.” Laura says, kissing his forehead. We both go and change in our bathroom, washing up and getting into bed, both of us facing Ryder as he slept on his back.

“I hope he’s okay.” I whisper, reaching over to take Laura’s hand. 

“So do I.”

* * *

“How’s he doing?” I ask, walking past Ryder’s room to see Laura sitting in the chair with Ryder on her lap.

“Better, still a bit warm though.”

“How are you, Sweetie?”

“Tired, Mama.” He says, rubbing his eyes.

“Want to take a nap?” Laura asks.

“Yeah.”

“I’m gonna change and then I’ll lay with him, give you a break.”

“Okay.” Laura smiles, I make my way to our room and change into something comfortable before going back onto Ryder’s room.

“Story, Mama.” Ryder says, rubbing his eyes.

“Okay Monk.” I say, taking a book from the shelf. I find one of his favorites, _Where the Wild Things Are_. “Ready?”

“Yeah.” He nods, curling into my side. After I finished reading the book, I looked down to see Ryder was fast asleep, I moved as gently as possible in order not to wake him. I make my way out of his room and go downstairs to find Laura with the girls.

“Hey, everything okay?” Laura asks as I walk into the den.

“I read to him and he’s sleeping now.” I say, plopping down on the couch.

“Mama, can you help me?” Sophie asks, walking over and putting a worksheet in my face. 

“What is it, Sweetie?”

“Math. I don’t like math.”

“None of us like math.” I sigh. “But I’ll help you, what are you working on?”

“Multiplication.”

“I hate multiplication.”

“So do I, Mama.”

“Well, let your teacher know that you come from a family that is anti-math and pro-reading.” Laura says, looking at the worksheet.

“That’s true, we like reading a lot more.” Sophie chimes.

“But don’t really tell your teacher that, we still have to help you and you still have to learn something.” I say, looking over the sheet.

“Mama!” Daisy calls out, rushing down the stairs. “Ryder won’t stop crying.”

“The poor kid.” I sigh, looking at Laura.

“Go, I’ll try to get through this devilish worksheet.” She smiles, kissing me on the cheek. I rush up to his room to see him sitting in the middle of his bed with nothing more than a pair of underwear on.

“I’m hot, Mama!” He cries, holding onto Henry for dear life.

“I know, I know.” I say, walking over and feeling his forehead with the back of my hand. I pull my phone out of my back pocket, making a quick call. “Hey, yeah I need you to come by and watch the girls. Laura doesn’t know I called you, Ryder is very sick, he needs to see a doctor, and we really need to go to the h-o-s-p-i-t-a-l. Yeah, I’m going to let her know. If I say it, I know he’ll start crying and not want to go.” I say, pulling a large t-shirt out and putting it on Ryder before hanging up the phone. “We’re going to get you looked at, okay Monk?”

“What about Mommy?”

“She’s coming don’t worry.” I say, kissing the top of his head.

“What’s going on?”

“I want to take him to the ER, he needs to be looked at, his fever is back.”

“What about the girls?”

“I already called your dad about it, he’ll be here soon, and once he gets here we’re going.”

“Okay.” Laura nods, running her fingers through Ryder’s hair. “We’re going to get you checked out, okay?”

“Okay Mommy.” He nods against the crook of my neck as he clings to be as best as possible. “I love you.” 

“We love you too, Sweetheart.” Laura smiles, kissing his forehead.

* * *

“What happened?” Sherman asks as we walk through the door, Ryder sleeping in my arms.

“He’s going to be fine, they gave us a fever reducer better than what we have been giving him.” Laura explains with a yawn. “Thank you for sitting with the girls.”

“Never an issue, Laura. You know that.”

“Yeah. I’m going to go upstairs.” She says, making her way up without another word.

“Thank you, Sherman.” I smile as he pulls his coat on.

“You know it’s never any trouble. I’m just happy to hear this little guy is going to be okay.”

“So are we. Be safe getting home.”

“Thank you, Carmilla. Let me know if anything happens.” 

“Of course.” I say, closing the door behind him and walking up stairs. I walk into our room with Ryder still in my arms, laying him down on the bed. “Do you care if he sleeps in here?”

“Not at all, I was going to as you to put him in here. Can you just get him his cup with juice in it so we have it up here?” Laura asks, walking out of the en suite bathroom.

“I’ll be right back.” I say, kissing her quickly. I walk back into the room to see Ryder curled into Laura’s side, as they both lay fast asleep. I smile, kissing Laura’s forehead before doing the same to Ryder. I quickly change into something comfortable and make my way to check on Sophie and Daisy.


	32. Chapter 32

-Carmilla POV-

“Mama!” Sophie shouts, stomping up the stairs and down the hallway towards my room.

“What’s up?”

“Ryder put peanut butter all over my soccer bag.” The fourteen-year-old whines. I look at the backpack that was in fact covered in peanut butter; I couldn’t help but laugh, causing an eye roll from Sophie. “Mama, I need to get to practice!”

“Switch to your old bag and Mommy will clean up that one.”

“Ugh! Fine.” She says walking out of the room. “I hate you, Ryder!”

“Hey! You know the rules, you never say you hate someone in this family.”

“Fine, I’m annoyed with you, Ryder!”

“That’s a bit better.” I say, rolling my eyes and going back to working.

“Mama?” Ryder asks, walking into the room.

“Before you say anything, why did you put peanut butter on your sister’s bag?”

“I thought it would be funny.” The six-year-old says with a smile. “But look!” He says, rushing over and opening his mouth, pushing a tooth back and forth.

“Whoa, that’s going to come out soon.”

“Mommy said the tooth fairy is going to come and give me money.”

“Well, that’s true.” I smile. “How much do you think that little tooth is worth?”

“A million dollars.”

“That’s a bit expensive. How about ten?”

“I guess.” He shrugs.

“I’ll put in a good word.” I smile, kissing his cheek.

“Okay, where’s Mommy?”

“She had to take Daisy to the orthodontist. Daisy had her braces put on today.”

“Oh, okay.” He says, walking out of the room. “Hi Daisy! How do you feel?” He asks, meeting Daisy in the hallway.

“My teeth hurt.” The ten-year-old whines, walking into her room, which was across the hall from mine. Laura walks in and goes straight into the bathroom.

“Are you okay, Cupcake?” I ask, getting off of the bed and walking towards the bathroom.

“Yeah, I just needed to wash my face, it felt dirty.” She says, patting her face with a towel. She puts the towel down and turns to face me with a smile. “Hello.”

“Hi.” I chime, stepping towards her and placing my hands on the counter on either side of her, trapping her against the counter. I lean in and kiss her softly. “How was your day?”

“Sitting in an orthodontists’ office is the least fun I could want to do, but I was working on an article to pass the time.” She says, placing her hands on my shoulders as she sits herself on the bathroom counter and wraps her legs around my waist.

“Sounds exciting.” I smile, kissing her neck.

“You know, I have to take Sophie to soccer soon.”

“We haven’t had time to ourselves in so long.”

“I know.” Laura whines, taking my face in her hands and lifting my head to look into her eyes. “We need alone time soon.”

“We really do.”

“Maybe we can pawn them off to my dad for the weekend, have time to ourselves. Maybe Perry and Laf will take them off our hands for a little bit.”

“Mom! I need to get to soccer!” Sophie announces.

“You’re being paged.” I tease, kissing her quickly.

“I’m going to take Ryder with me. Daisy is probably going to just sleep. The doctor said if she complains about pain to give her Advil or something like that.” Laura explains, getting off of the counter.

“Okay. Sophie is upset with Ryder at the moment, so keep them separated.”

“What happened?”

“Peanut butter to the soccer bag.” I shrug; Laura tries to hide the smile on her face.

“Really?”

“Yeah, he thought it would be funny.”

“That boy cracks me up.” Laura chimes. “I’ll be home as soon as I can be.” She says, kissing my cheek.

“What are we doing for dinner?”

“I’ll get pizza or something, just worry about Daisy.”

“Okay.” I smile. “I love you. Be careful.”

“I love you, too.” She smiles kissing me again.

“Mom, I get that you love Mama, but we’re going to be late.” Sophie says, peaking her head in our bathroom. 

“Be safe.”

“I will.” Not long after Laura and the kids left, Daisy came walking into my room and laying herself down on my bed as I worked.

“How are you feeling?” I ask, brushing her hair away from her face.

“Tired. My mouth hurts.”

“Do you want to try to eat something?”

“Mashed potatoes.”

“I’ll make you mashed potatoes.” I say, kissing the top of her head. “I remember that feeling when I had braces. It isn’t fun.”

“That’s what Mommy said. She said it hurts for a little while.” 

“That it does kid. Do you want to come downstairs or stay in here?”

“Can I stay in your bed and watch TV?”

“Yes, you can.” I say, she smiles, getting under the covers on Laura’s side of the bed, being mindful of the things I had laid out on the bed. “I’ll be right back as soon as your potatoes are done.”

“You’re gonna make homemade?”

“Of course, I don’t take shortcuts.”

“Grampa does sometimes.”

“Well I won’t. Do you want anything else?”

“Something to drink.”

“Okay.” I smile from the doorway. I make my way upstairs with a tray, mashed potatoes for Daisy, and a sandwich for me. I put the tray down in front of her and she smiles.

“Thank you Mama.”

“You’re welcome, Kiddo.” I smile, kissing her forehead. A comfortable silence falls around us as we eat dinner.

“It’s quiet without Ryder and Sophie.”

“It is.”

“I like it, but it feels weird.”

“I know how you feel. I feel that way when you kids are at school and Mom is at work. When I’m here by myself.”

“And then we come home and make it all loud again.”

“You come home and make it feel like home again.” I smile, kissing the side of her head.

“What are you and Mommy going to do when we get old and move out?”

“Play loud music and get dog.”

“Can we get a dog now?”

“Ryder would torture it, and no one will take care of it. I don’t think we should get one.”

“Okay.” She sighs, eating her food.

“When you have your own house, you can get as many dogs as you want.”

“I know. I want three dogs, little ones.”

“Whatever makes you happy, Sweetheart.” 

“These braces don’t make me happy.”

“I remember the feeling, I had them too when I was around your age, they hurt a lot when you get them tightened, but then it does go away.” 

“I trust you, Mama.” Daisy says, resting her head against my side.

* * *

“Mama!” Sophie shouts, jolting Daisy and I awake.

“Jesus, Sophie.” I mumble.

“I’m sorry, Mama, but we won.”

“Congratulations, where’s Mom?”

“She’s downstairs.”

“Okay, go get changed. And don’t come running in here shouting like that again, you made me nervous.”

“I’m sorry, Mama.”

“It’s okay, Sweetie. I know you were excited.” I say, kissing the top of her head as I walk out of the room and downstairs to see Laura in the kitchen, taking Chinese food containers out of bags.

“Hi Mama!” Ryder says with a smile as I walk into the kitchen. I walk over and kiss the top of his head before walking to the other side of the counter where Laura was.

“Hey.” She smiles, kissing me quickly. “How’s Daisy?”

“She’s good. She has mashed potatoes, and then we fell asleep.”

“Are you hungry? I got your favorite in case.”

“I ate with Daisy before, but I’ll save it for later. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Laura smiles, kissing my cheek as I turn to face Ryder.

“Were you good for Mommy?” I ask playfully.

“Yes. I listened and sat where she told me. But then I saw my friend, Luke, on the playground and went to play with him. His sister was on the same team as Sophie, I didn’t know that.”

“Well that’s good. I’m happy you were good and listened.”

“Thank you, Mama.” He smiles with a mouthful of food.

“Sophie is changing and then she’ll be down.”

“Okay.”

“Hi Mom.” Daisy says with a yawn as she walks into the room, rubbing her eyes a bit before resting her head against Laura’s side.

“Hey, Sweetie. How are you?”

“My mouth hurts.”

“I know; do you want some medicine? I also brought you some soup.”

“No thank you. Can I have the medicine and go back to bed?”

“Sure.” Laura smiles, going over to the cabinet. Laura hands Daisy an Advil and a bottle of water, she takes it before saying goodnight to Laura and I.

 

-Laura POV-

“Why are boys so messy?” Carmilla sighs, walking around the living room and cleaning up after Ryder.

“The mystery that will never be solved, Sweetheart.” I laugh, watching as she flops down beside me and pulling me into a kiss.

“I love you, and our messy son.” She chimes, I couldn’t help but laugh, brushing the hair from her face.

“What has you all sentimental these past few days?”

“I don’t know. I feel like I haven’t told you I love you enough lately.”

“You tell me every single day, trust me when I say I know you love me.” I smile, kissing her softly. “We’ve been married for fifteen years now.” I whisper against her lips.

“It seems like forever.”

“It practically is.” I laugh. “But I wouldn’t change it for anything, as you know.”

“I know, Cupcake.” Carmilla smiles as she pulls me into her lap, kissing me deeply. Before I new it she was standing up, placing her hands under my thighs as I wrap my legs around her, all while not breaking our kiss as she carries me up to our bedroom, tossing me on the bed. “I clearly still got it.” She smiles cockily.

“Your strength never falters.” I chime, pulling my shirt off as Carmilla goes over to close out door. She smiles, walking towards me as she takes her shirt off. “Let’s see if you still got it in other ways, shall we?”

“Seeing as it’s been a while, we shall.” She chimes as she climbs on top of me.


	33. Chapter 33

-Carmilla POV-

“Uhm, Daisy, where do you think you’re going?” I ask, catching her walk past the den in something that doesn’t even classify as an outfit.

“Oh, I’m getting ready to go out, Jack is getting me soon.” She says, standing in the entryway. I take off my glasses and put my book on the coffee table.

“Going out would require clothing, something you seem to be lacking at the moment.” I say, placing my hands on my hips.

“Ma, come on, he’s going to be here any minute.”

“Change, _now_.”

“Fine.” She huffs, stomping up the stairs as she mumbles under her breath.

“Keep mumbling and watch what happens!” I shout, pinching the bridge of my nose when I hear the door slam.

“Where did we go wrong with her?” Laura asks, walking into the hallway from the kitchen.

“I told you from the minute she was born, the Karnstein gene was both a belling and a curse. I blame her for my premature grey hair.”

“Yeah well.” Laura says, rubbing my back. “Two out of three good ones isn’t that bad.” She adds, kissing the side of my neck.

“Well the other two have the Hollis gene.” I sigh feeling Laura chuckle slightly. Raising teenage girls was not easy. Something about being one at one point in time made it difficult because you realize how you were to your parents. Although, like Laura said the Hollis gene made it easier to raise Sophie though her teenage years, seeing as all she ever went crazy over was cookies, but now raising Daisy made everything seem like more of a chore than anything else, at least our son Ryder was at that age where he does is play video games and eat pizza rolls. Then again a thirteen-year-old boy is a strange creature. Sophie is twenty-one years old and away at college finishing up her junior year of studying to be a Veterinarian; Daisy is seventeen and is a junior in high school.

“The Karnstein gene came to bite us in the butt, but it was worth it.” Laura says, wrapping her arm around my waist.

“I suppose.” I say, kissing the side of her head. She lets go of me when we hear the doorbell, seeing as we both knew who was at the door and I was always more intimidating than Laura, every boy that Daisy has dated so far has said I scared them, and every boy that Sophie has dated said the same thing, as well as some girls Sophie dated who thought they were badass were scared of me, and that is something I hold to a high regard. I open the door to see Jack standing on the porch with a smile on his face.

“Hi Mrs. Karnstein.” He said with a big smile.

“Jack, I’ve known you since you were in diapers, just because you are dating my daughter doesn’t mean we have to do formalities.” I explain, getting rid of the intimidation factor when it came to Jack. Oddly enough he looked a lot like Ell did when she was younger.

“I’m sorry Carmilla, you know it’s weird.”

“You can call me whatever you want, just not Mrs. Karnstein, it makes me feel older than I am and reminds me of my mother.”

“I’m sorry.” He says with a shy smile, looking over at Laura. “Hi Mama K.” He says with a wide grin, walking over to give her a hug.

“You’re growing an inch or more every time I see you.” Laura says, looking up at the rather tall boy.

“I love how he calls you Mama K all the time, but when he sees me it’s Mrs. Karnstein.”

“You scare me.” Jack admits with a laugh. “My mother even knows that you scare me and she said that it was a normal reaction when it came to you.”

“Well tell your mother thanks.” I say with a small laugh. Jack was Ell’s oldest son, she had another one about the same age as Ryder, and his name is Elliot. “How is your mother?”

“She’s good, she’s always working.”

“Well you know how she is, especially when she wants my father to give her his firm.”

“Oh good you’re here.” Daisy says, walking down the stairs.

“There’s my daughter, dressed properly.” I tease, receiving an eye roll.

“Yeah, okay. Can we go please?” She says, walking over to Jack.

“I’ll have her home early, I have practice in the morning.” He says with a smile, looking at Daisy and wrapping his arm around her shoulder.

“That’s fine Jack.” Laura says with a small smile as the two walk out of the house. “He turned out to be a sweet boy.” Laura says, walking back into the kitchen.

“And to think just a couple of years ago I caught him trying to light a firecracker in our mailbox. That kid was a menace until now.” I say, following her in the kitchen and sitting at the counter. “Where’s Ryder?” I ask, fixing the placemat in front of me.

“He went to go play some new game with Ron.” Laura says, resting her forearms on the counter in front of me.

“So for the first time in a very long time, this house is completely empty with just you and me?” I ask, taking her hands in mine.

“Well, Sartre kinda counts.” Laura teases referring to the cat. As soon as Søren got sick from being so old, and more Sophie being attached to him more than the other kids, we got her a kitten for Christmas one year, and she kept with naming him after a Philosopher after we explained to her why Søren was given his name.

“That cat is such a dipshit.” I say with a small chuckle.

“Well you picked him out at the shelter, you liked him because he was biting my shoelaces.” Laura says, rolling her eyes and leaning over to kiss me. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” I say quietly against her lips.

“Sophie is coming home for the weekend.”

“Ah, the good child. When is she coming home?”

“Some time today, she said she’s bringing someone home with her.”

“A boy someone or a girl someone?”

“She didn’t say, all she did was beg that they can stay in her room with her. She feels like she’s old enough to be trusted that nothing will happen in the course of a weekend.” Laura says, filling a teakettle and putting it on the stove.

“She didn’t tell me anything and I just spoke to her yesterday.”

“Well she wouldn’t tell you because she knows you’d say no.” Laura says, walking over to the fridge and getting an apple.

“Of course I’ll say no, especially if it’s someone we never met.” I say, sitting back in the chair.

“Carm, she’s a big girl, she can make her own decisions.”

“But she’s still my daughter.”

“I know that Carmilla, but she’s a grownup, she can do what she wants.” Laura says, making herself and I a cup of tea.

“She’s twenty-one years old.”

“Yeah so? Sophie is ready to do whatever she wants to do in life, she wants to be a Vet, so she has to go to school again for that. She’s smart Carm, we have nothing to worry about.”

“Mommy?” Sophie calls out from the front door.

“And here she is now.” Laura chimes, getting up and walking into the hallway. I sigh and get up to follow her, smiling when I see my daughter.

“Hi Mama.” She says, walking over to give me a hug.

“How are you?”

“I’m really good Ma.” She says with a smile. It was amazing how much she grew to look exactly like Laura. “There is someone that I want you to meet. I’m assuming mom already told you I was bringing someone.” Sophie says, walking to the door. “Come on.” She says with a smile to someone standing on the porch. “Mom, Mama, this is my girlfriend Emma. Em, this is my mom Laura, and my ma Carmilla.” She says with a bright smile, introducing us to a short blonde girl.

“It’s very nice to meet you Emma.” Laura says, extending her hand for the girl to shake.

“Nice to meet you too Mrs. Karnstein.” Emma says with a smile.

“Please call me Laura.”

“Nice to meet you.” I say, extending my hand for the girl to shake.

“Nice to meet you too.” Emma says quietly.

“You _can_ call me Mrs. Karnstein. Or Mrs. K.”

“Ma, don’t scare her.” Sophie says, taking Emma’s hand in her own.

“What?” I say when Laura gives me a look.

“Stop it.” She says quietly, slapping me on my arm when Sophie takes Emma into the living room. “Be nice.”

“So Emma, what are you studying?” I ask, sitting down in my armchair.

“I’m studying to be a nurse.”

“You don’t have to be scared of her, Carmilla is harmless.” Laura says, sitting down next to Sophie. “Would anyone want anything?”

“No thanks Mom.”

“No thank you.” Emma says. “But yeah, I would like to be a nurse, so that’s what I’m going to school for.”

“You must be very bright then.” I say, sitting back a bit.

“Yes ma’am.”

“How long have you two been a thing?” I ask Sophie who looks at me wide-eyed.

“About three months.” Sophie says quietly.

“You didn’t tell me for three months?”

“Carmilla.” Laura warns, knowing I’ll get mad if I continue.

“If I would have told you sooner, you would have come to school and tormented her.” Sophie says.

“Tormenting isn’t something I would have done.”

“You’re as bad as Grampa sending me bear spray!” She shouts, causing Laura and I to start laughing.

“Okay, you made a valid point. I’m sorry I make you feel…” I trail off, not being able to find the word.

“Smothered.” Sophie chimes.

“Okay, I’m sorry. Emma, you seem like a very nice girl and all I ask is that you treat our daughter with the respect she deserves. As for the sleeping arrangement for the weekend, your door stays open.”

“That’s fine.” Sophie says, taking Emma’s hand and getting up from the couch and leading the way up the stairs.

“Am I like your dad?” I ask, watching Laura walk over to me and sit on my lap.

“I believe we had this discussion twenty-one years ago when I was still pregnant with her that you would be just as, if not more protective than my father.” She says, brushing the hair from my face. “You just want what’s best, and that’s all that matters.”

“Thanks.” I say, wrapping my arms around her and resting my head on her chest. All of a sudden we hear someone barreling through the front door and running for the back door. We look up and catch the tail end of Ryder and his friend Ron.

“Ryder!” Laura calls out, getting off of me and following the boys to the backyard. I sigh and follow behind her. “Ryder, get over here!” She says as she steps out into the back yard.

“Yes Mom?” He asks, walking over to Laura with his head down.

“Why are you running in here like you’re guilty of something?”

“Laf was getting yelled at by Aunt Perry for creating some goo that was melting the floor.” He explains. “So Ron and I ran over here because we knew something was going to happen and we didn’t want to be too close when it did. Laf is crazy mom!”

“You don’t need to tell me twice.”

“My mom was going to kill my parent, Aunt Laura. She was so mad.” Ron says, walking over to us from behind the large oak tree.

“Your mom has been doing that with Laf for as long as I can remember.” Laura says with a smile. “You shouldn’t be running through the house to get away from the science experiments gone wrong. Ryder I want you to go say hello to Sophie and her girlfriend Emma. Be nice and if you do anything rude to Emma over the weekend you will lose all electronics and will have to read a book of ma’s choice.” She warns, knowing our some loved to play tricks on new people Daisy and Sophie were dating.

“Oh the power of making my children read the classics.” I chime with a smile, watching Ryder’s eyes go wide.

“Oh come on Ma, I’m still trying to finish that other book you made me start, and you won’t let me see the movie.” He sighs.

“If I let you see the movie, it would defeat making you read the book, at least I’m not making you read what I make my students read.”

“That brain melting stuff? I don’t even know how you teach that.” He says, walking back into the house.

“Hey, it expands the mind, not melts it. You’ll appreciate it when you’re older.” I say, patting him on the shoulder. “But in all seriousness, be nice to your sister and her girlfriend, and if you catch them doing anything you know I don’t like let me know.” I whisper the last part.

“Don’t make our son out to spy on his sister. Ryder you do that and it’ll be two weeks without electronics!” Laura calls up the stairs. “And you will also be punished.” She says, turning to me with a grin.

“Oh Cupcake.” I husk playfully, wiggling my eyebrows.

“You’re such a dork.” She says with a smile, leaning in to kiss me.

“The same dork you married two decades ago.” I chime, kissing her again.

“And you’ve kept all of your promises.” Laura says happily, placing her hands on the back of my neck.

“Even down to keeping the cookie cabinet stocked on a regular basis.” I say, placing my hands on her hips.

“Well that became more for the kids than it did for me.”

“That is a lie and you know it.” I say, watching her blush slightly.

“So it was a lie, but you kept your promise.” Laura says, kissing me softly.

“I swear to god Ryder you’re the reason I never come home anymore!” Sophie shouts from upstairs.

“It’s not my fault you never lock the door!” Ryder says.

“Don’t you know to knock anyway?” Sophie complains.

“Daisy always locks the door and Mom and Ma have their own bathroom!” Ryder shouts back.

“You’re so annoying!” Sophie shrieks before stomping towards her room and slamming the door.

“Sophie Rose Karnstein that door better be open when I get up there!” I shout up the stairs. “Why did we have three kids again?”

“Because we liked them when they were little.” Laura chimes, following me.

“Ryder, get out here.” I say way I reach the top of the stairs, watching him come out of his room. “You too Sophie.”

“Tell the little brat to knock the next time the bathroom door is closed and not to come barging in with his ginger friend right behind him.” Sophie says, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Who goes into a bathroom without locking the door?” Ryder says, looking at Laura and I.

“Why were you and Ron going into the bathroom anyway?” Laura asks, knowing the outcome wasn’t going to be a normal one.

“They walked in with giant water guns.” Sophie says with a smirk.

“Sophie, you’re an adult, don’t be a tattle tail, go be with your girlfriend, take the car if you want to.” Laura says waving her hand.

“Thanks Mom.” Sophie chimes walking back into her room.

“As for you, what were you planning to do with a water gun?” I ask, trying to keep a straight face.

“Nothing.” Ryder says, looking down at his feet.

“Ryder.” Laura warns.

“We were gonna go play a prank on Elliot.” He says, looking up at us with a smirk. “We were gonna wait until he came outside to go to soccer practice and shoot him with them.”

“Why do you boys always have to play annoying pranks on each other?” Laura asks, pinching the bridge of he nose.

“Because it’s funny.”

“Don’t do it, I don’t care how funny it is.” Laura says, watching the boys walk back into Ryder’s room. “How you feel about the girls is how I feel about him.”

“And we both know I can’t discipline him because, let’s face it, I’d do something like that.” I say with a laugh, talking Laura’s hand in mine and walking into our bedroom.

“Yeah you would.” Laura says, rolling her eyes as she plops on the bed.

“We did good didn’t we?”

“We did fantastic if you ask me. We raised three kids without fail, we both work our butts off to give them everything they want out of life, and we still manage to make time for each other. I think we’re quiet the success.” Laura chimes, lying back against the pillows. “If you could re-do anything would you?”

“Nope, there is nothing I would change at all.” I say, leaning over to kiss her. “Everything is perfect.” I whisper against her lips.

“Ryder I am going to kill you!” Daisy shrieks from downstairs.

“And the perfection is gone.” I say, kissing Laura’s forehead and getting out of bed. I walk to the door to see Daisy walking up the stairs soaking wet. “Did he get you with a water gun?”

“Yeah, him and that freak show friend of his.”

“You can take this one.” I say, turning to face Laura who sighs and gets out of bed.

“This boy will be the death of me.” She says, kissing me quickly before going down stairs. I walk over to Daisy’s room and knock on the door.

“Yeah?” She calls out, I open the door to see her in a dry t-shirt.

“Your sister is home for the weekend.”

“Oh fun.” She says sarcastically.

“Be nice to her and her girlfriend.” I say, walking into the room.

“Oh she’s on girls this year?” Daisy laughs.

“Be nice Daisy at least for this weekend and for the sake of your mother and me. How was your date with Jack?” I ask, sitting down on her bed.

“It was nice.” Daisy says with a shrug.

“That’s good.”

“I really like Ma. Like a lot.” She says with a smile, sitting down next to me. “He’s so nice, and sweet. He’s so hot. I mean…” She trails off, bowing her head when her face turns red.

“Sweetie, don’t get embarrassed.”

“I just like him a lot Ma.” She says quietly.

“And that’s okay. Not to mention I have him so intimidated, he knows better than to hurt you.” I say with a smile.

“Mama, don’t be proud of that.” She says, pushing my shoulder a bit. “I don’t want you scaring him anymore.”

“He’s naturally scared of me.”

“I know that.” Daisy says with a chuckle. “Just don’t be so intimidating anymore.”

“Okay Monkey.” I say, kissing the side of her head.

“How did you know you loved Mommy?”

“The day I had to go home with her for Christmas. I only knew her for a few days at the time and she asked me to go home with her. It was easier to say I was her girlfriend than it was to say anything else to her family. Then we were decoration grampa’s old house for Christmas and I teased her into kissing me under the mistletoe, and the rest is history. But your mother, I fell in love with her the moment I saw her.” I say with a smile.

“Was she as dorky than as she is now?”

“Your mother is the dorkiest person I have ever met in my entire life.” I say with a small smile. “And I wouldn’t want to be with anyone else.”

“You’re such a sap.”

“You’ll understand one day.” I say with a shrug. “Anyway, be nice to your sister, don’t kill your brother.”

“Love you Ma.” Daisy calls out.

“I love you too Monkey.” I say, closing her door as I walk out of her room. “We clearly spend too much money on electronics for this boy. His allowance should be going to something else.” I say, watching Laura walk out of Ryder’s room with a bag full of remotes and controllers.

“Yeah well, the twenty-first century is to blame.” She says, walking into our room with the bag. “The boy is a menace to his sisters.”

“The boy is thirteen. I remember when Will was thirteen he did stuff like this all the time.” I say, walking over to her and rubbing her shoulders. “Now the boy has to read, do his homework, take out the garbage.”

“He isn’t allowed to go by Ron or Elliot for a week.” Laura says sternly.

“Yes Mommy Dearest.” I say, kissing the side of her head. “The boy is grounded for a week.”

“He sure is.” Laura says, turning her head to look at me. “Boys are harder than girls.” She says, resting her forehead against mine.

“Girls are equally as hard, except they spend their money on makeup and magazines.”

“Easier to deal with than videogames and super soakers.”

 

-Laura POV-

“Regardless of the chaos that has ensued today, thank you Ryder.” Carmilla says, looking over at our son. “It is nice to have our children together for the first time in a long time.” She adds as she sits down at the head of the table.

“And no matter what, it’s times like these that make everything better.” I chime, looking at our children. “Ryder, I know that look, and whatever it is you plan on doing, you will never see a TV or videogame until you go to college.” I warn, watching the smirk fall from his face.

“Sorry Mom.” He says into his dinner plate. After an incident free evening, the girls went off to their rooms while Ryder decided to read and go to bed early. Carmilla and I were sat next to each other in bed; Carmilla was grading papers while I was finishing up an article. I push my glasses onto my head and close my laptop with a yawn. I put it on the bedside table and place my glasses on top of it, while I make myself comfortable I see Carmilla do follow my lead, she lies on her side and faces me.

“I love you.” She whispers, brushing the hair from my face.

“I love you too.” I whisper, placing my hand on her cheek.

“Forever?” She asks.

“Well we made it this far, I don’t think I can renege on it now.” I say sarcastically, receiving a playful shove from Carmilla before she leans in and kisses me softly.

“You’re mean.” She whispers against my lips.

“Something I picked up from you.” I tease, kissing her again.

“Something that will never change.”

“Never ever.” I say happily.


	34. Chapter 34

-Carmilla POV-

“Laura, come on.” I say, walking into our bedroom.

“One second.” She calls out from the bathroom. “I just have to finish putting on my face.”

“I hate when you use that expression.”

“Hey, I’m not twenty-seven anymore.” Laura says, looking at me in the mirror as I lean against the doorframe.

“You’re still just as beautiful now as you were then.” I say with a smile, watching Laura blush, it was still fun to have the effect of her after being married for thirty years.

“You’re so sweet to me.”

“I have no reason not to be sweet to you, now I would like to get out of here soon, before you know it our grandchild will be off getting married.” 

“Sophie just had her daughter yesterday, I doubt that’s happening soon.” Laura says, rolling her eyes and fixing her glasses. “There let’s go cranky.” She says, turning off the bathroom light. In the past five years, the only one who managed to move out and start a life was Sophie, she and her girlfriend Emma ended up getting married and Sophie just had their first child. Daisy was still dating Jack and also living home, seeing as she decided to go to college close to home, as for Ryder, he decided to take some time off after graduation high school, which Laura and I didn’t bother him about it, at least he had a steady job and wasn’t just laying around the house all day every day. After a short drive to the hospital Laura and I walked hand in hand through the maternity ward until we found Sophie’s room. Laura knocked on the door softly before opening it. I the emotion of seeing Sophie holding her daughter hit me like a wave. She looked so much like Laura lying in the hospital bed with her baby in her arms I couldn’t help the tears from running down my cheeks.

“Oh Ma, don’t cry.” Sophie says with a small smile.

“I just remember the day you were born, how you look so much like your mother and now my baby has a baby. I’m sorry.” I say, grabbing a tissue and rubbing my eyes.

“And here I thought I was going to cry first.” Laura chimes, giving Emma a hug. “Congratulations sweetheart.” She says to Emma with a smile.

“Thank you Laura.” Emma chimes, looking at her family with pride.

“Congratulations.” I say, giving Emma a hug.

“Thank you Carmilla.” She says in my ear.

“So what’s my grandbaby’s name?” I boast, walking over to Sophie.

“Say hello to Alicia Marie Karnstein-Smith.” Sophie says happily, handing the baby over to me.

“Well hello there, that name of yours is a mouthful kid.” I say, kissing the Alicia on her forehead. “But you are one beautiful baby, you look a lot like your Mommy.”

“You look exactly like your Mommy.” Laura chimes, looking at Alicia over my shoulder.

“Well I’m Nana, and this is Gammy. And we are going to spoil you rotten.” I say, looking over at Laura with a smile.

“That we are.” Laura says, kissing the baby’s cheek.

“I see that Hollis gene is a strong one.” I tease, noticing how Alicia has the same nose Sophie did when she was born, and the same chin Laura had as a baby based on all the pictures.

“But she does have Emma’s eyes.” Sophie chimes, looking up at Emma with a smile.

“The mystery of how that happens is one I would like to solve, you have your mother’s eyes, even though it’s scientifically impossible.”

“And Daisy has yours Mom, even though it’s impossible.” Sophie says with a smirk.

“Did you decide on who gets called Mommy and Mama?” I ask, not taking my eyes Alicia.

“I think I want to be Mama and Sophie can be Mommy.”

“However it happens, you two are going to be wonderful parents.” 

“Thank you Mommy.” Sophie says with a smile.

* * *

“Nana.” A small voice says in my ear. I open my eyes to see a smiling face looking at me. “Hi Nana.” Alicia chimes, kissing me on the cheek before I pull her up to sit on my stomach.

“And how is my favorite granddaughter today?” I ask, brushing her curls out of her face.

“Gammy and me baked cookies.” She chimes with a grin.

“Did Gammy eat all the dough like last time?” I tease, smiling when Alicia giggles.

“No way Nana, Gammy let the cookies go in the oven this time.” Alicia says with a smile.

“Good.”

“Nana can we go play outside?”

“And what would you like to play?”

“I dunno.”

“Wanna make your moms something?” I ask, watching her face light up.

“Yeah, that sounds like fun.” Alicia says, getting off of me and running to the kitchen.

“Cupcake?”

“Yes Carm?” She says, pushing her glasses in top of her head.

“Does Daisy have any paint and a canvas laying around?”

“I think there’s something on the shelf next to the washer.” Laura says, following me into the garage. “Why?”

“Alicia is going to make something for Sophie and Emma.” I say, walking over to where Laura said to go.

“Whose bright idea was that?”

“Mine.” I say with a smile, getting the paint and kissing Laura before walking outside.

“Okay little one, we just need to get you a smock.” I say, putting the paint on the table before walking back into the house. Laura holds out an old black t-shirt of mine.

“Before you complain, this is the Pink Floyd shirt you have three of.”

“I love you.” I say with a smile before kissing her and going back outside.

“I love you too.” She calls out from the back door when I go out into the yard with Alicia.

“Okay Mini Muffin, you can do this however you want to, if you get it on your hands and feet just let me know before you go running in the house or Gammy will kill me.”

“Okay Nana. Can I put paint on me feet and walk on this?”

“Yes you can, we just have to clean you up after. What color do you want?” I ask, picking up the colors and getting a paper plate to squeeze it out onto.

“Mama likes blue, and Mommy likes green. Can I make one foot green and one foot blue?” Alicia chimes, looking at me with a smile that reminded me of Laura.

“You sure can.” I say, squeezing the colors out and helping her walk into them. “Just make sure you don’t press too hard or you’ll rip the canvas.” I say, holding her hand as she quickly walks across the surface. After about an hour, Alicia was pleased with what she made her parents. Aside from walking across the painting, she managed to make handprints and finger painted swirls and random shapes in different shades of blues and greens, as well as pinks, yellows and reds. It was fun showing her how two colors could make a new one when she would ask for orange or purple, as well as asking met to help her spell out ‘mama’ and ‘mommy’ and also ‘love Alicia’ at the bottom.

“I think they’re gonna like it a lot Nana.” Alicia says as I was off her feet and hands.

“I think they’re going to love it so much. You did a really good job.” I chime, watching the little girl as she smiled and laughed, as I made sure all of the paint was off of her feet and toes.

“Allie!”

“Yes Gammy?” Alicia says, looking over my shoulder towards Laura.

“Your mommy is here.”

“Mommy’s early.” I say, looking at Alicia’s expression change.

“I don’t want to go home yet, and my picture isn’t dry.”

“Just cause Mommy’s here doesn’t mean you’re going home right away Monkey.” I say, drying off her feet with a towel.

“Can we bring the picture inside to show Mommy?” Alicia asks, cocking her head to the side.

“I’ll carry it okay, we just got you cleaned up and don’t need you getting dirty again.” I say, standing up and getting the canvas from where it was drying on the grass.

“Mommy, Mommy.”

“Hello Princess. How was your day?” Sophie asks, pulling Alicia into her lap and kissing the top of her head.

“Nana helped me make you and Mama a picture.” Alicia chimes, looking over at me as I walk into the house. “Can we show Mommy?”

“Here you go Mommy.” I say, placing the canvas on the table. “It’s still drying, so don’t touch it.” I inform Sophie before walking over to the garage door and placing the paint back where it belonged.

“Mommy, are you sad?” I hear Alicia say as I walk back into the room and look up to see Sophie crying a bit.

“No Sweetie, I love it so much that I started crying, I’m happy.” Sophie says, kissing the side of Alicia’s head. “Did you write your name?”

“Nana held my finger as helped me do it.” Alicia informs her. “And nana told me how to make purple, we took blue and red and mixed them all together to get the right color.”

“It sounds like you learned a lot today. You’re so smart Sweetie.”

“Thank you Mommy.” Alicia mumbles into Sophie’s chest. “I love you.”

“I love you too little one. Mama is going to be so happy when we bring this home and show her.”

“Is Mama gonna cry too?”

“Maybe.” Sophie says with a small laugh. “You can watch a little TV if you want to before we leave.” She adds, watching Alicia’s eyes light up.

“Gammy come help me!” She chimes, taking Laura by the hand and dragging her into the den.

“Thanks Ma, for helping her.” Sophie says with a small smile.

“It was my bright idea, I just needed the little one to help execute it the way she wanted to.” I shrug, walking over to get myself a drink out of the fridge.

“Well that was a very good idea. I remember we would do that kinda think for mom when it was her birthday.” Sophie chimes, smiling at the memory of the kids making gifts like that when they were little for both Laura and myself.

“Your mother still has some of those paintings hanging up in our room, and now there are a couple in Alicia’s room.” I say with a smile. Laura and I loved having Alicia over so much that we managed to just have her own room set up for her that was formerly Sophie’s room.

“Mom never threw away anything we made, and now being a parent I can see why you two never did that.”

“It’s fun to look back and remember when you kids were little and innocent, it reminds us that there was a time everything was okay, then you turned twelve and all of that changed. Daisy started even she was about seven, and Ryder, I’m convinced that boy never had a calm period, seeing as he would get paint everywhere when he painted, I mean one day it made it to the ceiling.” I say, looking up at the kitchen ceiling where there were still the remains of bright green paint just over the kitchen table.

“So that’s how that got there. I never bothered to ask.” Sophie says, squinting as she looked at the ceiling.

“Well that’s your brother’s doing?”

“How is he? I don’t talk to him as often as I talk to Daisy.” Sophie asks.

“He’s good, he decided to study engineering and should be graduating soon.”

“He’s been doing to school forever.”

“Leave him alone, he doesn’t take the maximum amount of credits per semester, and I’d rather see him going to school than not going to school at all.” Laura says as she walks into the room.

“Of course the baby get’s the benefit of the doubt.” Sophie says, rolling her eyes.

“You’re a mother now, if you decide to have another child or not, you will give all of them the same opportunity and benefit of the doubt.” Laura says, crossing her arms over her chest.

“I know Mom.” Sophie says rolling her eyes.

“Good, so be nice about your brother.” Laura says with a smile as she looks over at me and walks up to me, wrapping her arms around my middle and resting her head on my shoulder before I kiss her on the top of her head.

“You two are so gross.” Sophie teases.

“Just wait until your married thirty years and have a grandchild. If Emma is indeed the love of your life, you will be just as gross in the next however many years.” I say, wrapping my arm around Laura.

“I know Emma and I will be just as happy and you and Mom are after all this time.” Sophie says, sitting up in her chair.

“So shut up about us.” Laura teases before kissing me.

“The one fun thing about having a kid now, is that I get to tease her like you guys teased us growing up.” Sophie chimes with a smile.

“That is one of the benefits of having kids.”

“And the benefit of having grandkids is telling them all the embarrassing stories about their parents when they’re old enough.” I tease with a grin.

“Your mother will forever be a pain in the ass Sophie.” Laura says with a laugh.

“Oh the joy.” Sophie says sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

“You love me.” I say to both of them, receiving another kiss from Laura.

“We do.” Sophie says with a smile, reaching across the counter and placing her hand on mine.

“I love you too Nana!” Alicia chimes from the entryway of the kitchen before rushing over to me to pick her up. I hold her in my arms and kiss her on the side of her head.

“Life’s good Ma?” Sophie asks with a smile.

“Life is very good Sophie.” I say, looking at Laura with a smile and looking at Alicia and Sophie, three generations of Hollis genes, and they all look exactly the same, from the same golden hair, to the way they all smile. “I wouldn’t change anything.” I say, kissing Laura.


End file.
